


My Amalthea

by SkyWasMadeofAmethyst



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Age Difference, Crushes, Declarations Of Love, Eventual Smut, F/M, Family, First Crush, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-03-21 23:44:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13751679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyWasMadeofAmethyst/pseuds/SkyWasMadeofAmethyst
Summary: You didn't have a crush on Dan Avidan anymore. You had grown out of that silly schoolgirl crush years ago, or had you?  Moving to LA and having your old childhood friend Dan Avidan thrust back into your life leads to some surprising changes. A drunken conversation leads to some confessions from you.





	1. Single as a Pringle

You had known Leigh Daniel Avidan your entire life. You had grown up on the same block just a few houses away from one another. Your parents were friends. Your older brother hung out with Dan all the time given they were the exact same age.

Dan had even been forced to babysit you once or twice your mothers more than likely setting it up. Dan was eight years older than you after all.

To tell the truth embarrassingly enough Dan Avidan had been your first real crush, or at least your first schoolgirl crush.

You had always enjoyed the praise Dan had given you. He really was too kind to you. He had treated you like a friend never mind the fact that he was eight years older than you.

Growing up your parents had spent a lot of time hanging out, and as most kids whose parents were friends Dan and you had spent time together as well. 

Dan had even spent some time helping you with your science homework, another task your mothers had more than likely conspired together to make happen.

The little schoolgirl crush you’d had on Dan had persisted no matter how much it had embarrassed you. Your mother had known of course, and you were quite sure Dan’s mother had known. Actually, your fathers had probably been aware of it too as well as your brother and Dan’s little sister.

You weren’t sure if Dan had ever known. You probably would have dropped dead from mortification had you ever known he’d been aware of it.

It had seemed growing up that Dan had been a constant guest in your household. You had enjoyed his presence.

While your older brother may have given you a hard time Dan had always tolerated you. He’d never complained when you tagged along with your brother and he. He’d never fussed at you when you would wander into your brother’s bedroom and beg to play video games with them or listen to records with the two of them. Your brother would of course fuss and groan about it. He’d call you a little pain in the ass, but Dan had always just chuckled and reassured you that it was okay.

You could still remember what Dan would say when your brother would get all pissy about you wanting to hang out with them and listen to Rush or Pink Floyd yet again “Hey man at least she wants to listen to good music. She could listen to that Britney Spears and boyband crap Dana listens to. Count your blessings that she doesn’t have crappy taste in music. Thea is pretty cool.”

You had of course preened at Dan’s praise. You’d soaked up any praise he gave you like a tiny sponge. He’d always treated you like an equal. While your brother may have grumbled about you Dan had never treated you like an annoying little kid.

You would never admit it, but when Dan had turned eighteen and left for Boston to attend college, you had been a bit heartbroken.

It wasn’t as though you could have done anything about it. You were still a child back then, only ten years old when he’d taken off for Boston.

He’d been in and out of your life since then. He’d sort of become a bit of a background character in the story that had been your life.

You would hear about him from your mother from time to time, little comments about Dan, Updates on his life: “Danny got his Advertising degree, but Avi and Debbie said he’s going to go into music. They’re worried but I’ve always had a feeling that boy was going to be a musician. Remember that terrible music your brother and he would play in the garage?” Debbie said Danny has a band now. He’s moved to Brooklyn. He seems so excited about it.” “Danny’s band broke up. Poor boy. Debbie says he’s taking it hard.” “Danny is living in Philly now. He’s taking improv. He was always such a funny kid. I think he’s trying the music thing again.” “Did you see Danny’s band’s videos on YouTube? It’s a little raunchy, but I think it fits his sense of humor. Debbie seems proud. I sent you a link to the video.” “Avi and Debbie said Danny has moved out to LA. He’s going to be on some internet show…playing video games…who even knew that was a thing. I hope it works out for him. I know you weren’t here to see him when he came for Hanukkah but he’s so thin. I know he’s always been such a thin boy, but he looked so tired.”

You had always politely listened to the conversations of course though to be honest it was more your mother gossiping than anything. You could admit it was amusing to hear little updates on Danny, though you’d told yourself that you hadn’t thought about him in years.

You had seen him off and on through the years when you both happened to be in New Jersey in the old neighborhood at the same time, or when your parents wanted to have a get together. 

You could admit that seeing him always did strange things to your heart. There was no use focusing on it though, you were so clearly over your crush. 

You’d like to think you hadn’t thought of him all that often since you were a kid. You had grown up after all. You hadn’t really seen him in person in at least six years now.

You were twenty-eight now and had gone to nursing school. You were a mature woman who had plenty of boyfriends.

There were times though when thoughts of Dan seeped into your conscious. As hard as you tried to deny it Danny Avidan had carved out a little space deep in your heart.

When you’d gotten the job offer in Los Angeles your mother had been all too eager to call Dan’s mother Debbie, which had left you in this situation.

You openly rolled your eyes as you yanked your heavy red rolling suitcase off the baggage claiming area. You were struggling to hold your iPhone up to your ear and not drop your purse and your carry-on bag as you listened to your mother rattle on.

“I really don’t need Danny to pick me up mom. I’m a grown woman for heavens sake. I think I am well past the days of needing Dan to babysit me.” You grumbled not at all amused.

You spoke again as you finally managed to pull up the handle on your luggage. “He probably has a life of his own. I mean did you and his mother even bother to ask him? I don’t want to burden him. He probably felt forced to open his home up to me like this.”

“It’s not a burden. He seemed very excited to see you honey. You know he asks about you all the time? You’ve always been special to him. I know you two haven’t talked in along time, but I’m sure it’s not a burden for him.” Your mother insisted your cheeks flushing despite your best attempts to ignore the way your heart fluttered at this statement.

You were over your crush on Danny Avidan. You were a grown woman. You were well past the age of schoolgirl crushes on the neighbor boy.

You hadn’t seen Dan in years. The only thing you’d exchanged over the past few years was the occasional birthday card.

You had watched a couple of episodes of Game Grumps of course; just to hear his voice though you’d never admit that it had been the reason. You had seen the Ninja Sex Party videos too. You had never really reached out to him though.

You’d just always figured he’d moved on with his life and wouldn’t want to hear from little Thea Mercer.

Your cheeks only further grew rosy as your mother spoke an amused giggle leaving her lips. “When you were a little girl you followed Danny around like a little shadow. He’d treat you like a little princess…even after Dana was born. We figured him getting a baby sister of his own would stop him from doting on you. It didn’t change a thing though. He would just insist that you were so special. He’d call you Amalthea after that character from that book he loved…The Lost Unicorn.”

“The Last Unicorn, mom. It’s called the Last Unicorn…I mean you named me Thea…so he was bound to make that comparison” You corrected her wanting to slam your head against the nearest hard object. Your denial of having any sort of crush on Dan wasn’t easy when your mother started rambling on like this.

You mother chuckled as she spoke apparently not getting the hint that you’d rather she stop reminiscing. “That’s it. He just adored you. Debbie and I used to joke that he and you were going to grow up and get married. We still have hope you two will wind up together, you know.”

You couldn’t stop yourself from coughing at this revelation. No, it wasn’t the first time you’d heard her make that comment. It was much easier to brush it off though when you weren’t planning on meeting face to face with Dan in less than a few minutes.

“Pretty sure that’s not happening mom. Hate to break Debbie’s and your hearts.” You tried to joke attempting to ignore the way your heart was racing.

“Why not? You’re a cute girl and you’re single. He’s single too. He’s always single. He’s too afraid to commit. Debbie wants him to find a nice girl. He hasn’t always dated nice girls. Debbie and Avi love you. Your father and I love Danny. It would be a good match. I know your father is a little hard on Danny,but I think your father would approve of Danny being with you...which is more than I can say for your past boyfriends.” Your mother insisted refusing to let this go.

You had heard it before of course. Your mother and Dan’s mother were dear friends so of course they were always making little comments about how they hoped Danny and you would wind up together. They claimed a relationship between Dan and you was meant to be.

You had always tried to laugh off the comments. You didn’t have a crush on Dan Avidan. You had grown past that a long time ago, you reminded yourself.

You spoke up eager to end this conversation in hopes it would put an end to the frantic beating in your heart. “I better go mom. I’ll text you tomorrow.”

“Alright. Tell Danny we said hi and give him a hug from us and his parents.” Your mother remarked probably none too pleased that you were avoiding the conversation about just why Dan and you were never going to be a thing.

You shoved your cell back into the pocket of your oversized cardigan your throat growing tight as you tried to regain control of your breathing.

You didn’t have a thing for Dan. There was no need to get so worked up.

You resisted the urge to roll your eyes as you realized Dan was late. He’d never been the promptest person on the planet.

You managed to at least pay the airport Starbucks a quick visit deciding to get a caffeine fix while you waited on Dan to show up.

You coughed almost choking on your iced coffee latte as his voice boomed out from behind you. “Amalthea! Holy crap, is that you?”

As you turned to face Dan you were taken off guard by the hug. He was so tall. It was funny how you’d almost forgotten how tall Dan really was.

It didn’t help of course that you were shorter than the average girl, but still Dan it seemed loomed over most people.

“Danny. Good to see you.” You replied trying to ignore the way your cheeks seemed to flush as he finally released you from the hug.

He still smelled the same; Old Spice Sport cologne, aftershave, and deodorant even. Of course, he didn’t smell like pot this time around.

He’d quit that years ago. You could remember one of the first times you’d been old enough to realize you smelled pot on him. 

You could remember he’d been visiting Jersey for the Thanksgiving holiday and he’d caught you then sixteen years old climbing a tree to sneak out of your bedroom window.

He’d given you a hard time of course, but he hadn’t betrayed your trust and tattled on you or anything of the such.

You could remember how you’d snickered as he’d tried to give you advice to stay safe and sober. You had taunted him a bit pointing out that any parental speeches he wanted to give you were deterred by the fact that he reeked of marijuana.

You hadn’t thought about that night in years.

Time had moved by fast. Once you’d left for school you’d stopped really going home. It wasn’t as though you disliked visiting your family. It was just that you’d been so determined to seek out a life of your own.

Of course, your heart knew it didn’t want to go home because going home might mean seeing Danny. Seeing Dan might mean getting just dumb enough to admit any past or current crush you may or may not have had on him.

Dan could admit he was a bit taken back at the sight of you. It was funny but he’d almost expected you to still be that mouthy teenage girl you’d been the last time he’d seen you.

He knew it was stupid, of course you’d grown up. You were in your late twenties now, fully grown with a career as a nurse. You weren’t a kid anymore.

From looking at you he could see you definitely weren’t just a kid. You had filled out in ways that made his throat and other more personal parts of his body react and tighten. You seemed so much more grown up. Your hair was back to its natural color. He was pretty sure it had been pink in the last photo his mother had showed him of you. It had to have been years ago though, probably back when you had just started college. Your eyes seemed a little bit more tired, but still just as pretty as they’d always been. You still had those dimples in your cheeks, the ones he’d always found so cute.

Though it sounded strange you were somehow both different and still the same.

You let out a small giggle unable to stop yourself from reaching up and ruffling the mess of curls on the top of his head. “Still haven’t gotten a haircut I see? Still donating it?”

You yanked your hand back as suddenly as you touched him. You’d almost forgotten overhearing from him at one point that he thought touching one’s hair was one of the most intimate things anyone could do with someone.

You could see his point. You didn’t let just anyone touch your hair after all.

Dan felt foolish at the reaction your touch of his hair had elicited from him. He could smell the scent of your perfume the scent of jasmine filling his senses. Your hands were so tiny against him still even though you were now grown. Your touch was so soft though it had been teasing. It had been almost like a caress.

He felt his cheeks flush at the thought. You didn’t see him like that. It was stupid to think of you that way. He had known you all his life. You were his little Amalthea. You were special.

Maybe that’s why you were getting this reaction from him though?

He tried to push back this thought as he took your luggage from you trying to play off any reaction your touch may have driven from him. “Yep that’s still the plan. Won’t be cutting it till I get it good and long though. I want to give as much as I can. I pulled it up the other day and it was kind of weird…ya know feeling air on my neck again.”

He cleared his throat as he nodded towards the entrance to the hectic airport. “Let’s get out of here.”

You didn’t speak until again until you reached Dan’s SUV and were sat in the passenger’s seat of his car. “Are you sure you don’t want me to just get a hotel room. I mean I’m sure you’re going to want your house back soon enough…I don’t want to overstay my welcome. I have zero idea how the housing market is out here, and I haven’t decided if I should go with a rental house or an apartment. I just don’t want to be a burden.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll enjoy the company.” Dan insisted not wanting to admit just how eager he’d been to agree to his mother’s questions over rather you could stay with him or not until you managed to get onto your feet.

You let out a small chuckle the words sliding from your lips before you had the chance to think. “Are you sure I won’t mess up your dating game? I mean I don’t want to piss of any girlfriends or anything.”

Dan felt his cheeks flush clearing his throat as he spoke. “No girlfriend to piss off. I haven’t really been dipping into the dating game lately. My last relationship was kind of…well it was hell. I always pick the wrong ones I guess.”

You cringed at your stupidity. You spoke trying to smooth over any uneasy feelings your comment may have brought up in him. “You have a good heart Danny. You just need to find someone who appreciates that….and you know…don’t fall so fast. You fall too fast too quick. Your heart is just too big for your body.”

You spoke again not noticing the way Dan’s cheeks only grew darker at this statement. “Don’t feel bad about the single thing…I mean, my love life might as well be nonexistent. Kind of hard to find nice age appropriate guys when you’re working in a nursing home.”

Dan cleared his throat trying not to read too far into your praise of him. Why were you so sweet? Why did your praise of his good heart make his heart swell so much?

“Guess it’s hard to find a single guy who isn’t seventy and still has his own teeth in your line of work huh?”

You chuckled at this comment nodding your head. “Pretty much. Guess we’ll just have to be single pringles together for a while.”

Dan and you both felt your cheeks flush at this statement. Pringles weren’t exactly single. They pressed to one another.

…………………….

You weren’t too entirely sure when the tequila had come out. You had found it in Dan’s kitchen.

It had been years since you had a drink and the same went for Dan.

At first it was just a celebratory shot of tequila to welcome you to your new life in LA.

One drink had lead to two and two was leading into three and my lord were you ever so drunk.

You sat on the sofa beside Dan the two of you finding it far too easy to wonder down memory lane.

Dan spoke giggling feeling a tiny bit tipsy himself. “Remember that time you came to that holiday party your parents threw high off your ass.”

“You were high too.” You pointed out remembering this.

You had been a teenager then and Dan had been in his early twenties. He’d been visiting his family for the holidays.

Dan snickered shaking his head. “We just connected eyes across the room and shared this total knowing look…like this exchange between two stoned idiots.”

You rolled your eyes shaking your head. “You smoked a joint with me at the park after the party.”

“Yeah I did...couldn’t let you smoke all alone....and my girlfriend was pissed that I’d disappeared.” Dan pointed out chucking at the memory.

You couldn’t stop yourself from gagging a bit at the memory hoping you weren’t being too bitchy. “Ugh, Laura. I remember her. I was kind of thankful when I found out you two broke up…sorry Danny…but she was the worst.”

Dan thankfully didn’t take offense to this comment. “It’s alright. She was kind of the worst. She was pretty stuck up. Plus, she was nuts…. I walked in on her sleeping with some guy in a men’s bathroom at the club my band was playing at.”

You let out a small sigh at this the realization that that was how Dan and she had broken up. You couldn't stop it from kind of pissing you off even if it had been so long ago. “Seriously? I don’t feel bad for thinking she was a total asshole now.”

Dan snorted at this not helping but to be amused at the smallest hint of fury in your eyes. “It’s alright. It was for the best. At least she didn’t cheat with one of my bandmates or anything…I just got really wasted and played the show. I recovered…. or well...I recovered as well as I could if the current state of my love life doesn’t speak for itself. I guess I still haven’t had any luck finding a girl who’s willing to put up with my bullshit.”

Maybe it was the booze talking but you were unable to stop yourself from saying just what was in your brain. “You deserve someone really wonderful Danny. You’re wonderful.”

“I beg to differ Amalthea. I’m a bit of a mess. I’m geeky neurotic workaholic whose main source of income comes from playing video games and dancing around stage in spandex while singing about dicks.” Dan remarked ignoring the way your praise made his heart swell.

Why did you have this effect on him? He knew why of course; you were his Amalthea. You were special.

You shook your head refusing to let him devalue anything he did. “Exactly. You’re a damn good catch. You’re the coolest guy I know. I’ve always thought you were so cool.”

He snorted at this comment shaking his head as you opened a bottle of Jack Daniels apparently deciding that mixing whiskey with the tequila you’d already had was a good plan. “I’m far from cool. I wasn’t even cool when we were kids. I was a total nerd.”

You poured your drink to the brim making Dan snicker. You were so going to have the hangover from hell tomorrow. He was tempted to take the bottle away from you, but held back. You were a grown woman. You could kill your liver if you wanted to.

You spoke again the liquor making it far too easy to say what you might be too afraid to admit sober. “You’re a great guy Dan. Any girl who had you would be lucky.”

You stopped to take a shot chasing it down with a can of soda before speaking again. “I always had a stupidly embarrassing crush on you…back when I was a kid…probably even when I was a teenager. I would hate it when you had a girlfriend…at least I did when I was a teenager.”

Dan widened his eyes totally thrown off by this comment. His parents had teased him of course telling him that you were crushing on him, he’d never really taken them seriously though.

To tell the truth he’d mostly thought of you as being his friend, his little friend, his Amalthea.

As you’d grown older though he couldn’t deny that you’d grown into a stunning woman. His mother had taken a habit of emailing pictures of you to him after you’d gone to college.

He would be a liar if he tried to deny that he hadn’t admired those photos. You had grown up to be a gorgeous woman. He was a hot-blooded male bound to notice it.

His parents of course had bugged him about you; pointing out how pretty you were, how smart, how sweet.

He’d tried to brush the comments off but he had been unable to deny the little flutter in his heart when he’d found out you had accepted a job offer in LA. It would put you closer to him, close enough that you would no longer be just pictures in emails.

Dan couldn’t deny that you were everything his parents praised; sweet and gorgeous. You probably wouldn’t give him a second glance.

“I never knew that.” He blurted out ignoring the voice in the back of his head that told him not to let his heart get too carried away.

You were drunk and you didn’t know what you were saying.

You chuckled shaking your head. “Thank god, I would have died from embarrassment had you ever figured it out.”

Dan cleared his throat taking a shot of his own letting the words leave his lips before common sense and any sense of sobriety had a chance to rear its ugly head in. He scooted a little closer to you his stomach knotting up as he took his chance. “What about now? I mean would you go for me now?”

You spoke your boozed-up mind having no problem letting the words fall from your lips despite sober your telling you to shut up and keep denying it. “Yes.”

Dan stared down at you realizing it would be so easy to press his lips to yours. They were so soft; painted with pretty peachy pink lipstick, so full and kissable.

He held back reminding himself that you were drunk. Kissing you right now would be a major asshole move. You couldn’t consent to anything right now, not even kissing him.

He spoke shaking his head deciding to just state the obvious. “You’re wasted Thea girl. I shouldn’t have asked you that.”

You let out a huff your intoxication making it easy to be a little ruder than you would ever allow normally. “I might be drunk, but I’m not stupid enough to deny that given the chance I’d jump your bones in a heartbeat.”

You paused pouring yourself another shot and taking it down without a chaser. “I try to deny it you know? I try to say that I’m over any crush I might have had on you. My mom starts in on me all the time about how sweet Danny is, how we’d be perfect for each other. I tell her that she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I tell her that I don’t think about you that way. That’s total bullshit though. How could I not be still so idiotically in love with you. You’ve always been the sweetest smartest, most talented person I know. I tried to tell myself that feeling jealous when you had a girlfriend was just me being childish, but I…I can’t lie. I wanted you. I haven’t visited Jersey for a reason Danny.”

Dan frowned barely having time to take this all in until you spoke again. “I haven’t visited Jersey because I’m afraid I’ll run into you and I’ll let it all out…I’m afraid I’ll get brave enough to spill my guts to you about how stupidly into you I still am after all this time.”

You paused a small laugh erupting from your throat. “Ya know, like I’m totally doing right now.”

He stared down at you the temptation to give in and kiss you the way his heart was screeching at him to do so strong. His brain was quick to squash this idea though.

You were drunk. You were drunk and kissing you would be the worst possible move.

You rested your head against the back of the couch a groan spilling from your lips the sober part of your brain kicking in telling you that you had royally fucked up. “I’m an idiot. Of course, you aren’t into me. I’m a giant idiot.”

Dan was quick to speak his hand clasping over yours the words sliding out his lips. “I am into you…I’m so into you it’s not even funny. I’m crazy about you. I think somewhere in me I’ve always known that I was going to wind up with you…I tried to ignore it, but it’s the truth…why do you think I’ve never settled down into a relationship that lasts longer than a year? No one compares to you. I can’t stop but to compare every woman in my life to you. It pisses them off when they realize it or I just shove them away because I realize it.”

He paused a heavy sigh escaping his lips. “We need to have this talk sober though Thea. We need to be clear headed before we get into anything or we’re going to make a giant mess out of this and ruin anything we might have.”

He frowned as it hit him that you weren’t responding.

Dan couldn’t stop the chuckle from leaving his lips as he heard a distinct snore leave your lips. You had passed out. Of course, you had passed out.

He pressed a lingering kiss to your cheek a sigh leaving his lips. You were still going to have that talk tomorrow no matter how hungover you were going to be.

You had always been his Amalthea and tomorrow he was going to make sure you knew just what you really meant to him.


	2. Always There

1997:

Dan let out a shaky groan no longer caring if he sounded pitiful. He felt so terrible. He felt beyond terrible. He felt like shit warmed over on a hot sunny summer day.

Why did he have to get mono? He would have liked to have claimed that he’d gotten the kissing disease from actually kissing someone, but that wasn’t the truth.

He wasn’t sure quite how he’d gotten the stupid infection, but it was certainly kicking his butt. The doctor had said that Dan could have gotten mono from anything from sharing a drink to touching his lips to a water fountain. The thought of actually getting his lips anywhere near a public drinking fountain made Dan gag so he was sure it couldn’t be that.

All Dan knew was that he hurt. His entire body ached. His throat was so swollen that every breath physically hurt. Dan had his tonsils removed as a child and he’d hoped that this would make the swelling in his throat less of a nuisance. Apparently, he wasn’t so lucky though. His lymph nodes were swollen. His head ached like his brain had been hit with a freight train. Fever had left him so overheated that his mother had worried he would faint. Thanks to his lack of active sweat glands he’d had a hell of a time sweating the fever out. His mother had taken to occasionally resting ice packs against his side fearing that he’d overheat on her. He was exhausted, so tired that he couldn’t even manage the energy to yank himself from his bed.

His days had become a routine of sleeping, being forced to drink so much water and broth he thought he would puke, and having antibiotics shoved down his throat.

Dan had been out of school for months now, stuck quarantined to his bedroom like some sort of plague victim.

His friends had stopped visiting a long time ago. Dan didn’t have the heart to be upset and blame them. This was their senior year of high school after all. They had lives of their own to attend to, lives that didn’t involve coming to stare at their sick friend while he laid in bed near tears over how bad he felt.

He cringed as his mother knocked on the door Debbie quick to enter the room and rush to his side her hand pressing over his forehead a small frown on her face. “You feeling up to a visitor sweetheart? Thea is here. I can send her home if you’re not up to it. She brought you a gift.”

Dan let out a heavy sigh knowing he’d sent you away the last time you’d come to visit him.

You had been the one constant during his illness. You visited once a week; Fridays after school let out for the day. Sometimes you would come on Saturdays too, after your cello lessons.

At first Dan could admit he’d been a little annoyed by the visits no matter how much you meant to him. The last thing he’d wanted was the neighbor kid coming to stare at him while he felt like hell. He had quickly chastised himself for this thought though. You weren’t just the neighbor kid. He knew his parents considered your family practically family by now.

As Dan’s friends had stopped visiting he could admit that he’d come to enjoy your presence. He had actually begun to look forward to your visits. At least it was company even if you were only ten years old.

It was funny but there were times that you almost seemed older than ten. You almost seemed older than Dan’s age of eighteen at times. Your parents had joked that you had an old soul. Dan could see it. It wasn’t just that you were a smart kid. It sounded so strange when he said it out loud but you seemed almost too wise for your young age. You had always been smarter than anyone gave you credit for.

His friends of course had taunted him over the closeness he felt to you; “Your best friend is seriously a ten-year-old girl dude? That’s kind of creepy. I mean shouldn’t she be off playing with dolls and jump roping with kids her own age instead of hanging around you?”

Dan had of course snapped back that they didn’t get it. You were just a family friend. You didn’t really get along with kids your own age. Other kids were kind of shitty to you. They picked on you made fun of you for being different; too smart, too mature, too introverted, too interested in fantasy and comic books. You lived in your head too much. Kids made an easy target out of you.

Dan had felt a sense of responsibility over you. He wouldn’t say he thought of you as a sister. He already had a little sister after all. He couldn’t really explain the bond you shared with him to people. All he could say was that you were just special. You needed a friend and he was okay with being that friend.

You weren’t his best friend he knew that probably wasn’t the truth though. Maybe you were really his best friend after all? You had always been there after all. You were always a constant in his life. You were the only one who had bothered to still visit him even if he was a pathetic mess of mono and depression. Not even your older brother Jackson bothered to visit him anymore.

“Yeah, send her in.” Dan replied easily making his choice.

He wasn’t surprised as his mother snapped open the curtains over his window making the previously dim room all too bright. He tried hard not to cringe as the light shone in his eyes making his head ache.

He wasn’t shocked to see the stark white surgical mask over your face. Your mother and his mother had insisted you at least be safe from his germs.

He was however shocked to see the large stack of comic books held in your skinny arms. You were quick to step towards his bed as Debbie left the room leaving the door cracked just in case Dan called for her.

You spoke your voice slightly muffled through the mask “Hey Danny. You look less crappy today.”

“You say that every Friday….and you’re too young to throw around the word crappy.” Dan remarked knowing that he sounded like their mothers scolding you.

You let out a huff rolling your eyes an action Dan had noticed you doing more and more the older you became. “Whatever, at least I didn’t say shitty.”

“You just did.” Dan pointed out a small laugh leaving his throat followed by a slight groan the laughter making his poor throat burn and ache.

You let out a small sigh holding out the massive stack of comic books. “Do you want these? Because if you keep lecturing me I’ll throw them out the window.”

Dan held out his hands ignoring how much energy the action took out of him as he took the stack from you. “Where did you even get these?”

You watched him thumb through the stack of Spiderman and X-Men comics shrugging your shoulders as you answered. “Joe.”

Dan frowned at the sound of one of his friends’ names. He didn’t blame Joe for not visiting often. He had a part time job plus a million other after school activities. Still though Dan missed his friends. Dan was going crazy being trapped up here alone. “When did you see Joe?”

“At the comic store. Jackson took me yesterday. He didn’t want to take me, but mom made him because I had to go to the library and he was supposed to take me, but didn’t’. Stupid jerk…I have a book report due and he can’t be bothered to care.” You answered as you took a seat on the dining room chair Debbie had set up by the bed.

Dan tried not to chuckle as he watched your short legs kick in the chair. You were so short and he had to wonder if you were destined to be short forever. You were actually quite tiny to tell the truth. You were a delicate thing; smaller than most kids your age.

You had been a premature baby. Dan could still remember when his parents had taken him up to the hospital to meet you. You’d been so tiny stuck in an incubator; so fragile.

Maybe that was where Dan had first gotten the idea that you needed to be protected?

You spoke again your legs still kicking. “I saw Jenny there. I’m glad you broke up with her. She smells funny.”

Dan cringed at the mention of his ex-girlfriend. “I didn’t break up with her. She broke up with me. And she doesn’t stink.”

You rolled your eyes slouching a bit in the chair. “I didn’t say she stinks…well, she kind of does. She wears too much perfume. It smells like a flower cart threw up on her.”

Dan snorted at this description hating to admit that you were right. “It’s a girl thing…an older girl thing. You’ll get it when your older.”

“I hope I don’t. Ugh, Gross…if I ever smell like that you have to shoot me. Plus, I better not start wearing those shoes she wears. They’re way too tall. She can barely walk in those stupid platforms. I better not wear smelly perfume and wear stupid shoes. If being an older girl means looking stupid then count me out.” You remarked your nose scrunching up at the memory of Jenny’s aromatic scent.

Dan smirked knowing that you had a point about the shoes as well. Jenny did love her platforms never mind the fact that she was totally incapable of walking in them. Those legs though, Jenny had great legs.

Jenny also unfortunately had a habit of being immature and well…materialistic. She had dumped Dan claiming he didn’t treat her right. By treating her right she actually meant he hadn’t given into her demands for endless gifts and his undivided attention. Dan could admit she wasn’t always nice to him. In fact, she’d rarely been nice to him. She wasn’t nice to anyone actually.

He let out a sigh as you spoke again your nose still scrunched up. “I really didn’t like Jenny though. She was mean to you.”

“It’s relationship stuff…” Dan tried to defend not getting a chance to continue his statement as you spoke up interrupting him.

“Let me guess, I’ll understand when I’m older.” You pointed out crossing your arms over your chest.

You spoke again ignoring Dan’s slight snort at your previous comment. “I don’t care. I still didn’t like her. She was a big giant stupid jackass…and don’t scold me for saying jackass. Jackson and you say way way worst. Jenny is mean to everyone. She pretended to be nice to me, but she totally wasn’t. She complained anytime I was around. She complained all the time. She was really really mean to you all the time. You aren’t supposed to be so rude to your boyfriend. I’m not going to be like that if I ever get a boyfriend. I’m going to be a nice girlfriend.”

Dan smiled softly nodding his head. He knew you were right of course. Jenny had been a jerk. Nice legs or not he was actually kind of glad that she’d broken up with him. “I’m sure you will be a nice girlfriend Amalthea. You’re going to make some lucky guy really happy one day.”

Little did Dan know though that he was going to be that lucky guy. If he’d known then what he knew now he had to wonder what he would have said.

……………………………….

Present Day:

Dan was the first to wake in the morning and he couldn’t help but to feel anxious as he allowed himself to the remember the conversation the two of you had the night before.

He had meant every word he said. What if you didn’t though? What if last night was just the result of too much booze talking.

Dan took a deep breath trying to tell himself that this wasn’t the case. You weren’t one to just throw around declarations of love.

As far as Dan knew you were usually single. Dan would be lying if he tried to say that he didn’t occasionally ask his parents if they’d heard anything about you having a boyfriend. He would be an even bigger liar if he tried to deny that he didn’t feel a sense of relief when the answer was no that you hadn’t found a nice boy yet.

He would also be a filthy liar if he tried to claim that he didn’t occasionally spy on the very few social media profiles you had. Spying made it sound so horrible though, like he was being some kind of creep.

In reality he had only wanted to check in on you, see how his little Amalthea had turned out.

He had entertained the idea of sending you a friend request once or twice, but something had always stopped him.

You rarely came back to New Jersey after all, or at least you hadn’t been visiting during the times he’d visited. He had been left to just assume that perhaps you just had no interest in having any connection to your past life.

You had your own life now after all. It had been no shock to Dan when he’d found out you had become a nurse. He had joked with his mother that perhaps all those visits you’d made to him while he was stuck in bed with mono for eight months had maybe guided you in your career path.

Dan could admit that when he’d found out you had become a nurse that he had maybe been just the slightest bit proud of you. He knew of course that he really had nothing to do with how your life had turned out. He couldn’t stop himself from feeling pride when he thought about you; his little Amalthea was all grown up.

He swallowed the lump in his throat realizing once again just how much you had grown. You were still petite of course; delicate against him. You had filled out though in ways that made it clear that you were a grown woman.

Your hair was short, shorter than he’d ever seen it. It had been cut into an angled pixie cut. It was a definite change. Your hair had always been so long after all in all the years he’d known you. The haircut only made your delicate pretty features all the more apparent.

He couldn’t help but to feel like a giant sap as he stared at you. You might as well be an angel. You were an angel and he was a giant mess. He may have found success in his professional life, but he was still a mess as far as his personal life went. He was a lonely workaholic who couldn't maintain a long lasting relationship with any woman because he was so afraid to commit to the wrong woman.

You were perfect and somehow you wanted him, or at least he hoped you still did.

He tore his eyes from you telling himself to get some coffee started and find the aspirin. You were going to have a killer hangover when you woke up.

First, they’d treat your hangover, then you would talk about what had happened last night.

Your head hurt, this was the first thought that entered your mind as you cracked your eyes open cringing at the daylight seeping in through Dan’s picture windows.

You let out a groan as you reached up to rub your eyes cringing at the eyeliner you’d managed to smear in this action. Guess you’d forgotten to take your makeup off last night before inhaling the liquor cabinet.

You felt the breath leave your body as the details of last night began to flood into your brain. It was fussy memories but you could remember one very very very clear detail. You’d spilled your guts to Dan last night. You had let him know that you hadn’t managed to get over that little crush you’d fostered on him all these years.

Oh God you were an idiot.

What had he said in response? You could vaguely remember him maybe saying he felt the same. If that was the case then where did that leave you though?

A small part of you couldn’t help but to wonder if his absence upon you waking meant that he’d freaked out and left his own house before you woke in order to avoid this entire mess you had created.

Dan did have some commitment issues after all. You were pretty sure his childhood friend dropping the I like like like you maybe love you bomb on him had probably sent those issues into overdrive.

Oh Lord, this was a huge huge huge shitshow of a disaster of a mess. You had really screwed everything up.

This was the exact scenario you had been hoping to avoid all those years you had avoided visiting Jersey and running into Dan.

You should get a hotel, yep you should just pack up and book a hotel room and hope to avoid having to face Dan and your shame anytime soon.

Your panic attack was interrupted as Dan entered the room a bottle of aspirin and a familiar glass bottle of orange liquid in hand.

He spoke clearly able to see the frantic anxiety dancing around behind your eyes. Maybe you were regretting last night? God, he’d feel like such a moron if you woke up today regretting anything that had been said last night.

He held out the items in his hands to you a small cough leaving his throat as he tried to casually clear his throat. “I know you don’t do hot coffee…and I haven’t reached the level of crazy Rockstar fame yet where I can have a in house Starbucks for iced lattes.”

He spoke again laughing at his own joke relieved that it did at least bring the smallest hint of a smile to your lips. “I remember you love orange soda, the sugary the better…so I bought a bunch of different brands for you to try out.”

You couldn’t deny the little way your heart fluttered at this confession. He had put that much thought into your time here with him? He still remembered your almost worryingly bad addiction to sugary cavity inducing orange soda?

You took the items with a small smile washing down the aspirin with the soda. You drank in silence for a moment that probably was truly shorter than awkwardness made it seem.

Dan was the first to speak deciding to just bite the bullet and go for it. “How much of last night do you remember Thea?”

You tried not to grimace at the use of your real name. Real names meant serious business. “That I opened my big fat mouth and made things probably irreparably awkward between us.”

Dan tightened his jaw preparing for the worst as he dared to speak up. “Did you mean it? I mean…did you mean all that stuff about…ya know? Liking me as more than a friend.”

He cringed at his own statement. What was he thirteen? He was a grown man for god’s sake. He felt far younger at the moment though, like a teenager talking to his biggest crush terrified that she would obliterate his heart.

You bit the inside of your cheek at this question. It would be so easy to lie, to say that you’d just had too much to drink and had been letting the booze choose your words.

You knew it would be a rotten thing to do though, to lie and say that your heart didn’t belong to Dan Avidan, that your heart hadn’t always belonged to him no matter how hard you tried to ignore it.

“Yeah I meant it.” You blurted out averting your eyes from his.

Now came the part where he rejected you. You tensed up ready to take the sting of rejection. You were a big girl, you could take the pain. It wouldn’t be your first heartbreak, though it would probably be your biggest.

Dan released a breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding. You almost jumped out of your skin as he hesitantly took a seat beside you his hand sliding over yours as he spoke his answer taking you totally off guard. “Good.”

“Good?” You blurted out your mouth opening and closing as you struggled to come to terms with his response.

You had dumped your heart out to him like a giant idiot and his answer was; good?

Dan couldn’t stop himself from laughing at the look on your face. You resembled a fish gasping for air after it had been yanked from the water. He spoke up ignoring the slight glare that his laughter had drawn out of you. “Yeah, good. I meant what I said too.”

You let out a breath unable to stop your hands from trembling. This couldn’t be happening. Was this really happening?

You had dreamed of this moment since you were a teenager. You had long ago accepted that the possibility of Danny ever feeling even as close to the same way you felt about him was just an improbability.

It was a nice fantasy. What happened when fantasy became reality though?

 

“I don’t really remember everything you said last night….things got a little fussy after I dropped the whole I’ve got a stupidly huge crush on you news.” You admitted hoping he didn’t take offense to you not exactly being 100 percent clear on his words from the night before.

Dan let out a small chuckle nodding his head. “Yeah you started snoring right after I poured my heart out to you…which ya know is rude, but whatever. You’re pretty hot so I’m not going to complain too much.”

You rolled your eyes at this a small smile crossing your lips despite your anxiety. You felt your cheeks flush at the hot comment. That was one compliment you had assumed you would never hear from Dan’s lips. “Sorry. I guess I’ve learned to never mix tequila and whiskey.”

“Never mix it with pot brownies either.” Dan provided causing the slight tension hanging in the room to break the both of you bursting out laughing.

Once you had recovered from your fits of laughter you clutching your ribs ever so slightly Dan managed to speak. “So….do you need me to repeat what I said last night? It’s a tiny bit fuzzy on my end too, but I think I can manage.”

You sighed trying hard not to let the headache your hangover had so lovingly gifted you interfere with your ability to answer him. “Go for it.”

Dan took a deep breath not helping but to feel a little panicked. What if he screwed this all up? “I…You have always been special to me. You know that. You’ve always been my Amalthea. I’ve always had trouble classifying just what our relationship is…I mean I know you’re my friend…despite our age difference you have always been my dearest friend…though I know in the past few years we haven’t really kept in contact…which was no ones fault. I mean we both had our own lives and it happens….I can’t count the times over these past few years where I wanted to pick up my phone and just call you or text you or at least… I don’t know email you…I just never could force myself to do it.”

He paused taking another deep breath knowing that he wasn’t exactly repeating the same speech he’d given you the night before, but he was still pouring out his heart so maybe that was close enough.

“You stopped really coming back to Jersey a few years ago…Just out of the blue, you kind of disappeared…I know the last time we talked…things got kind of heated between us…I was kind of a jerk. I would always hope that by some chance you’d just so happen to be visiting at the same time I was…and I was always disappointed to come home and find out you weren’t there. I guess I just assumed that you didn’t want to hear from me…so I talked myself out of contacting you.”

You sighed shaking your head. “I guess you know the truth now…I was kind of running from the chance of us ever having to have this conversation…I was pretty convinced you would reject me the second I got the words out..Plus I was in a shitty relationship…and staying away from home at that time was…it was for the best. It’s okay…I mean the last time we actually talked…You were right about the guy I was dating…so…no hard feelings.”

Dan couldn’t help but to feel a sense of overprotective rage flame up in him at the mention of this shitty relationship. He held back the need to ask for information about it knowing that wasn’t what this conversation was about.

He could remember the last boyfriend he’d met of yours. He had hated the jerk and he hadn’t wanted to admit a big chunk of that hatred had been bred out of pure jealousy and envy.

He sighed understanding how you could have assumed that he’d reject you. Your confession had been the last thing he’d been expecting to ever hear. He guessed he’d been in denial over what was bound to happen between you eventually.

He knew it didn’t help of course that he didn’t have the best track record when it came to relationships. He grimaced knowing he’d have to bring that up again too.

He spoke attempting to remember the entire speech he’d given you the night before. “I haven’t rejected you. I mean…I’m kind of in the same boat too. I meant what I said last night…Our parents are always telling us that we’re meant to be together…and we always just try to brush it off. It’s the truth though…I mean I…I kept track of you all these years…or..that sounds kind of creepy saying it out loud…like I wasn’t stalking you or anything like that. I just…I looked at your Instagram and your Facebook a few times…Debbie kept me updated on you…Avi too…and mom.”

You chuckled still amused to hear Dan’s names for his parents and his grandmother. His mom and dad were called by their first names and his grandmother had always been mom. It had been a bit confusing to you of course to hear Danny refer to his family with these names when you were a young child.

“My mom has kept me updated on you too…I’ve seen the videos on YouTube…the NSP stuff and some of the Game Grumps stuff.” You admitted not helping but to chuckle as Dan’s cheeks flushed.

“Great…So I guess you know I grew up to be…” He started to say but didn’t have a chance to finish as you spoke poking him in the ribs teasing him.

“A giant man-slut.” You taunted causing him to squirm as you poked at a particularly ticklish spot.

He chuckled shaking his head. “Yeah…that’s one way to put it…. I did mean what I said last night though…No one could ever compare to you. Most of the women I’ve dated get annoyed by how much I mention you…by how much my family mentions you. They would get pissed and talk shit about you and I would always get pissed off and drop them…I’ve gotten the reputation of…of well having giant commitment issues, but I don’t think that’s the main issue…I mean I’ve always said I couldn’t commit myself to someone for life and not feel weird and anxious about it…I’ve always said the idea of possibly committing to the wrong person makes me panic….I could see myself committing to you though…Anytime I tried to picture the kind of person I’d want to spend my life with my mind has always flashed to you. I’ve never been able to stay with anyone for long because they aren’t you…My family has been pointing out how stupidly into you I am…how I can’t find happiness with anyone because the person I’m supposed to be happy with has been right in arms reach all this time…and I…I never wanted to admit that it’s the truth. I meant every word I said last night.”

You nodded your head staring down at your lap the bottle of soda in your hand almost gone. You took a deep breath managing to speak. “So, what do we do? I mean do we just Royal Tenenbaums things? you probably don’t remember the quote but it’s: “I think we’re just gonna to have to be secretly in love with each other and leave it at that, Richie.” Or…what do you want to do?”

Dan cringed not shocked by the quote. It had been one of the last movies he could remember seeing with you. You had rented it one of the last holidays you had spent in Jersey.

He had come over to hang out with your brothers and you and you’d had a movie marathon. He might have been a little high then of course, but still he could remember that you’d loved the movie.

Dan spoke not taking a moments hesitation to answer you. “I don’t want to just be secretly in love with each other and forget it…. I would like to give us a shot. I mean…I’d like to try.”

You widened your eyes stunned by this. This so wasn’t the answer you had excepted. To be honest you were so used to things going wrong that you were stunned that something seemed to be going right in your life for once. “I would like that too.”

He placed his hand over yours the movement gentle almost as though he was afraid the smallest touch would break you. “I guess the best place to start would be me asking you out on a proper date.”

“That would be a pretty good place to start.” You replied still stunned that this was actually happening.

A big part of you was tempted to pinch yourself and double check rather you were dreaming or not.

The hangover was probably a big enough hint that you were wide awake though.

Dan let out an exasperated sigh as his cell phone began to ding the alarm he set to signal that it was time to leave for work sounding off.

He was tempted to call in sick but he knew that this would mean more recording later.

He spoke his stomach churning as he tried to shove back down any guilt he felt over leaving so soon after spilling his heart and soul to you. “I have to leave for work. Feel free to sleep in my bed…. or ya know I still have the spare bedroom set up for you if that’s what you’re comfortable with…. So…get some rest and recover from your hangover. There’s a ton of food in the fridge. I got plenty of veggies for you…I assumed you’re still a vegetarian…sooo hopefully that’s still the case…. We’ll have our hot date tonight.”

You nodded your head almost reluctant to allow his hand to part from yours. You couldn’t help but to lean into his touch as he hesitantly pressed a kiss to your temple his voice soft and teasing. “No more whiskey or tequila though Amalthea. You can’t hold your booze.”

“Yeah I think I learned that lesson.” You replied allowing him to part from you.

Despite the hangover from hell you couldn’t help but to smile. You had a hot date with Dan Avidan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to make a fic out of this. Hopefully I can do it justice and keep it cute and entertaining. Hope you're all still enjoying it.


	3. Fears and Posies

Chapter Three: Fears and Posies  
Dan would be lying if he tried to say that this wasn’t the best mood he’d ever been in whilst hungover. As he drove to the Grump Space he found himself actually tapping the steering wheel along to the drum beat as Everlong by the Foo Fighters played on the radio.

He had of course ignored the fact that he’d be beyond late arriving into work this morning, as he stopped at a gas station to buy himself the largest cup of coffee available for purchase.

As he got back into his car a cup of hot coffee in hand he found himself actually tempted to reach into the pocket of his leather jacket and pull out his cell so he could dial his grandmother’s home phone.

Dan knew that his entire family would be thrilled by the change in his relationship with you, but his grandmother would probably be by far the happiest….well aside from his mother that is.

Dan was already sure that his grandmother would tell him that it was about time he’d yanked himself out of denial and made his move.

When Dan had come to New Jersey for a couple of weeks last Hanukkah Dan’s grandmother was the one who had bluntly told him that he liked you far more than he was willing to admit. His grandmother had been the one who had so straightforwardly made him realize that his feelings for you went far beyond friendship. She was the one who had made him set all that denial aside for the very first time.

Dan felt his mind drift back to that snowy night when his grandmother had confronted him over his feelings for you.

Dan couldn’t stop himself from feeling disappointed as he entered your parent’s modest home only to discover that this was yet another holiday where you wouldn’t be coming home to visit.

This was the sixth year you’d spent the holidays away from New Jersey. The reasoning behind your absence were always the same; you were just too busy to make it home, the flight was just too expensive, you had to work.

The excuses never seemed like they were honest, at least they never seemed that way to Dan.

He couldn’t deny the flash of despondency that hit him when he arrived at your family’s holiday party only to discover that you weren’t there.

He tried his best to hide his distress and be merry. This was the annual Mercer Holiday Party after all. It was as always a full house filled with decorations, a ton of food, booze, and conversation. He’d been coming to this party almost every single year he’d been on this earth. His family and your family looked forward to this party all year long.

Dan wasn’t about to let feeling letdown over your absence bring down the mood of the party. Besides, if he was this upset by you once again being a no-show he could only imagine how upset your parents were.

He could admit the fact that you once again were avoiding coming back home for the holidays did worry him. You had missed both Thanksgiving and the Christmas/Hanukkah holiday season yet again giving the same bullshit excuses you always gave.

Dan was almost tempted to just find a way to make a special trip out to Portland to see you himself.

He resisted the urge though almost sure that any trip made to Portland would be a mistake. What would he say when he got there after all? You two hadn’t parted on the best terms six years before. He wouldn’t even know what to say to you if he saw you again aside from giving you an apology.

He cringed at the memory of the way you’d parted, the argument and subsequent falling out you two had had, stinging each time he let himself think too hard about it.

It had been a huge screw up on his part, cruel words had been said on both sides and there was no way of taking it back now. He had probably burned his bridges with you that night. Those bridges had already grown so unsteady over the years to begin with.

He could admit he had probably done a piss poor job of maintaining your friendship all these years. He should have called more. He should have sent more emails. He could have at the very least IM’d you or went old school by sending a letter.

Dan could at least say that he’d remembered to send you a birthday card each year on your birthday after he’d left for college in Boston. He’d even sent a gift once or twice. That probably wasn’t enough though.

He had known that growing up had been hard for you, at least socially. You had a hard time making friends. For the longest time he had been your only friend. He had probably left you feeling abandoned after he’d left for college.

It was no wonder you two had that falling out six years ago.

Dan stood by the Christmas tree his eyes locked outside on the street almost hoping that he’d see a taxi cab pull up. He could so clearly imagine a bright yellow cab pulling up and you exiting the vehicle out into the cold New Jersey snow. You’d hug your parents and your brother. His family would run out to greet you and his parents would insist he help you carry your luggage up to your old bedroom. Once you got there you and Dan would talk and he could make things right between you.

Dan shook his head knocking this fantasy out of his mind. He was stupid for hoping you’d show up. You were back in Portland alone supposedly working, and he was here in Jersey moping over his past mistakes.

He shifted in place trying not to frown as he spotted the Christmas tree out of his peripheral view. He could plainly see a homemade ornament hanging right by his head; a round ball with a clumsily drawn snowman on it and your name in tiny writing along with the year.

It was almost as though the tree and its cute homemade ornaments were mocking him over his sorrow at your absence.

He felt his stomach roll as he spotted the nativity scene set out on the coffee table and the cross hanging over the sofa. It wasn’t the only cross in the house of course. He’d long gotten used to the crosses your parents hung on just about every wall in every room.

His mind flashed back to the few times you’d tried to explain all the Christmas traditions to him as well as Catholicism. He’d always found your family’s Roman Catholic faith a little odd and he was sure that you had probably found his family’s Ashkenazic Jewish faith just as strange.

It was at times almost amusing to think that your families were so close despite their differing religious beliefs; your own family being stanch Catholics and Dan’s family being stanch Jews.

Your mothers had been the ones to bring your families together though. They had both gone to college together, both to become teachers. They both taught elementary students; Dan’s mother teaching kindergarten and your mother teaching first grade. Your mothers had maintained a tight friendship even deciding to purposely buy homes in the same neighborhood once they’d married their husbands. No one else in the family really had much of a choice as far as friendship went.

He guessed at the end of the day your families differing religions didn’t really matter he and you both were more agnostic than anything. Your families differing faiths had never been an issue in the friendship, or the former friendship he guessed, though the thought of it being a past friendship made him cringe.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as his grandmother approached him handing him a punch glass filled to the brim with egg nog. He tried to look less browbeaten, but knew he was failing as his grandmother spoke. “Why do you look so miserable, my star?”

Dan chuckled at the little nickname his grandmother had so many years ago deposited on him. She always insisted that she knew he was destined for stardom of some sort. “I’m just fine Mom, just tired. Avi kept me up late last night. He wanted to show off his new video camera…or well he actually just wanted me to show him how to use his new video camera.”

His grandmother rose an eyebrow clearly showing that she didn’t buy his excuses. This was only proven to be correct as she spoke. “Are you sure you aren’t just upset because Thea isn’t here? I saw the way your shoulders drooped when you walked in and realized she wasn’t here for yet another holiday.”

Dan let turned his eyes towards his glass shame flooding him. He knew he should have known better that to throw out some lame excuse. Of course, his grandmother would see right through his excuses. He cleared his throat his eyes shifting to make sure that no one overheard this conversation. He was relieved to see that the rest of the party goers were too busy engaged in their own conversations to pay him any mind.

“Thea and I…We didn’t exactly part on the best terms the last time I saw her. I’m afraid she’s still angry with me over it all.” He confessed spotting the look of mild disapproval crossing his grandmother’s face.

He tried not to sigh as his grandmother touched his cheek in an attempt to soothe him. The little gentle action made him feel more than a little pathetic. “What happened sweetheart?”

Dan shook his head trying not to sound as miserable as he felt as he made the quick decision to withhold some of the details of that night. “Just a stupid disagreement. That guy she’d brought home for the holidays…he was a real son of a…a jerk.”

Dan paused his cheeks flushing as he stopped himself from cursing. He ignored his grandmother’s look of slight amusement at his near slip of tongue. “We just got into a big fight over it…I said some dumb things, we both said some pretty stupid things. I never really apologized…neither of us did. I think I might have wrecked our friendship…because she’s staying away now. I haven’t really seen her since that night.”

His grandmother dropped her hand from his cheek a small sigh leaving her lips as she spoke. “You know why that boy she brought home upset you so much don’t you?”

Dan furrowed his brow the answer seeming so obvious. “Because it was clear that he was a giant jerk and she deserved way better?”

His grandmother shook her head speaking to him as though he was a child again instead of a fully-grown man. “Because you’re in love with her sweetheart. You think she deserved more because you think you’re the one she deserves.”

Dan widened his eyes his cheeks flushing at this statement. “That’s not how it is…Thea…she’s just a friend Mom. I don’t think of her like that.”

His grandmother shook her head again refusing to buy into the same excuse he’d been throwing around for years when it came to you. “You and I both know that that’s not true Danny. I’ve seen the way you look at her. A while back something changed in the way you see her. When anyone brings it up you try to deny it, but I know you Danny. If you didn’t feel anything more than friendship for her you wouldn’t have gotten so upset over that boy, jerk or not. If you weren’t in love with her you wouldn’t look as miserable as you do right now. Your heart wouldn’t hurt each time you come back home to visit only to find out she’s not here too.”

Dan’s brow furrowed further wanting to argue that his grandmother was wrong. He didn’t have a chance to speak though as his grandmother gave his arm a gentle pat her voice firm. “You need to think about it sweetheart. Eventually you are going to have to let go of all that denial. The day is going to come where you’ll have to realize just how much Thea means to you. When that day comes you’re going to need to stop living in fear of committing yourself to someone. You said it yourself; she deserves more. We both know that you want to be what she deserves. You’re going to have to be honest with yourself when it comes to her Danny.”

Dan let out a heavy sigh his protests getting caught in his throat as his grandmother walked away leaving him alone with his thoughts.

He turned his eyes back towards the cold snowy streets his grandmother’s words running through his head.

His grandmother was right Dan had to be honest with himself. The honest truth was that Dan Avidan was in love with Thea Mercer.

He let out a defeated sigh at this thought. He was so hopelessly in love with her and she was over 2,000 miles away.

Even if he did love Thea, who was to say that she would ever feel the same?

Dan snapped out of this memory a small smile crossing his features. If he knew then what he knew now he probably could have saved himself a lot of heartache an a ton of misplaced guilt and worrying.

Part of him wished he could go back in time years ago and force himself to admit to you just how in love with you he was. If he’d confessed years ago you and he could have gotten together sooner. He could imagine that if you had gotten together years ago you would probably be married by now and you might even have a couple of kids.

He shook his head at the thought of marriage and kids. It was way way way too soon for him to even be thinking about that.

Of course, if he was being honest with himself he could admit that if he were ever to get married or have kids then you’d be the person he’d do it with.

The thought shocked him. He’d spent years running from commitment after all. He guessed his grandmother had been right though, he’d have to stop fearing commitment when it came to you.

Dan was yanked from these thoughts as his cell phone chimed a text from Arin coming in. Dan let out a small chuckle not shocked by the text. Arin was asking where he was, if he was okay, alerting him that he was over thirty minutes late for work.

He really was running late now.

………………………………………………………………………………………

Dan knew that he was strutting as he walked into the Grump Space a cup of coffee in hand.

He deposited his car keys and his backpack at his desk a small frown crossing his features as he glanced at the clock on the wall. He was far later than he would usually dare to be.

He spoke giving Arin an apologetic smile as he headed back to the recording room. He managed to shuck off his jacket and take a seat. “Sorry I’m late.”

“You look like crap. Wild night with your friend last night?” Arin joked able to see the signs of a hangover looming over Dan despite the older man’s cheery disposition.

Dan cleared his throat taking a big swig of coffee as he replied. “Yeah, she found the tequila…and the whiskey. She’s faring way rougher than me.”

Arin snorted at this information shaking his head. “I bought you that tequila right after you moved in to your place two years ago. You just now opened it?”

“I didn’t open it. Thea beat me to it.” Dan explained knowing he felt a somewhat sappy smile cross his features at the mention of your name.

Arin apparently took notice of the sappy smile taking a chance to state the obvious. “So, I’m assuming Thea is the reason you’re grinning like a dork?”

Dan cleared his throat not helping but to wonder how Arin would react once he explained the age difference between you and him. Arin only knew that you were an old friend from Dan’s childhood back in New Jersey. Arin didn’t know any of the details.

He tried to tell himself that even if Arin disapproved of the age difference that it wouldn’t be a big deal. Maybe once Arin got to know you it would make things less awkward. He silently tried to reassure himself that Arin wouldn’t find the eight-year age difference too odd nor the history you two shared.

Still though Dan couldn’t deny the dread building up in his gut as he prepared for the worst possible reaction.

“Yeah…we kind of got a little drunk…well Thea was drunker than me…I was just tipsy…and things sort of came out of the experience…We had a good talk….We got some things out that needed to be addressed between us…We’re going to give us a shot. I guess we’re dating now.” Dan explained carefully choosing his words.

He spoke again stumbling over his own clearing his throat once more as he decided to just jump right into being 100 percent honest with Arin about everything. “She’s…I’ve kind of known Thea all my life…I mean I know I told you that…we’ll I’ve known her almost all my life…since I was eight…I was eight when she was born. So, there’s a little bit of an age difference there.”

“So, she’s my age?” Arin asked his expression unreadable to Dan. At least it wasn’t disgust Dan told himself. That had to be a good sign.

Dan stared down at his lap his insecurities peeking up deep within him. “You don’t think it’s weird right?”

“What? No man, why would I think it’s weird? I mean she’s my age.” Arin responded his brow furrowing at Dan’s obvious anxiety.

Dan let out a heavy sigh still preparing himself for the worst possible reaction. “I don’t know…I mean I’ve known her since she was a kid…she was like ten when I left for college…. I used to babysit her…I helped her with her science homework more than a few times.”

“So, it’s not that big of a deal. I mean Suzy was like thirteen when I met her at that convention…I was like sixteen.” Arin explained trying his best to reassure Dan’s obvious doubts and fears of his reaction to your and Danny’s history.

“Yeah, that’s not too much of an age difference though…I mean you never babysat Suz…You two were closer in age…You went to her prom together…. I mean, with Thea and me there’s an obvious age difference…aren’t people going to assume the absolute worst?” Dan explained hating himself for bringing all of this up.

It wasn’t that he was ashamed of your history together. It was quite the opposite actually. He looked back at your history with one another with fondness.

It was just that he was unsure how his friends and any outsiders to his life would react to it. He had to fear that they wouldn’t get it. His biggest fear was that they would write him off as some sort of creep who’d been sitting back and waiting until you were of age to make a move on you.

Arin let out a heavy sigh deciding to approach his friend’s fears with a different method. “You weren’t into her when she was ten years old were you?”

“What?! No, that’s disgusting. I didn’t look at her that way at all.” Dan blurted out fearing that his worst assumptions were coming to life.

Arin nodded his head continuing his approach at calming Dan. “And what about when she was a teenager? I mean you were what? In your twenties then? Did you think of her that way then?”

“No, I didn’t look at her that way, not at all. I mean, I thought she was sort of cute…but not like in a I want to make out with you kind of way…I mean, I didn’t really start looking at her differently until she left for college…her mom would send my mom emails with photos of her in them and Debbie would send them to me…and I found Thea’s Facebook too…so, I just…I started to notice that she had grown up into this beautiful woman…and the few times I saw her when we happened to be in Jersey at the same time I was kind of…I guess I kind of started to fall for her. I mean…over the years, the girls I’ve gone out with…they haven’t been able to light a candle to Thea…and that fact has always ruined every relationship I attempted to get into…well that and my weird phobia of committing to the wrong person….I kind have realized though that I would be happy to commit to Thea…she’s what I’ve been unable to admit that I’ve wanted for so long now. I’m nuts about her and I feel like in some way I always have been crazy for her…I feel like maybe her and I were meant to be with each other…. It’s the last thing I ever expected to happen. I didn’t plan on any of it.” Dan explained it suddenly hitting him what Arin was attempting to do

Arin nodded his head relieved to see that the shocked look had at least faded from Dan’s face the man fully realized the point Arin had been trying to make. “Then it’s not weird. If anyone says it is just tell them to go fuck themselves. She makes you happy right? I mean I know this is a new thing between you? But she probably will make you happy, won’t she?”

Dan felt the genuine smile gross his lips as answered without any hesitation. “Yes. I think she will. I already feel better than I have in a long time.”

Arin gave him a pat on the back Dan quickly feeling dumb for ever even fearing the worst. “Good. You deserve it. So, when will we get to meet her?”

Dan chuckled getting the feeling he wouldn’t get out of introducing everyone to you sooner than later. “Eventually. I don’t want to scare her off too soon.”

Arin snorted at this shaking his head as he picked up the Sega controller from the coffee table. “Please, if anything she’ll decide you’re so much cooler because of us.”

Dan laughed shaking his head as he placed his coffee down onto the coffee table. “She already thinks I’m cool.”

“Well that’s because you are, duh.” Arin remarked as he flipped on the mics.

Dan shook his head shoving aside this conversation for now. It was time to get to work.

The sooner he finished the recording and getting his days work done the sooner he could return home to you and the date he had planned.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

You had been tempted to sleep in Dan’s bed like he’d offered, but you held back quickly deciding that the first time you slept in Dan’s bed you wanted him there in bed beside you.

The thought put a distinct flush to your cheeks despite your best efforts to ignore it.

If the thought of lying in bed with him put this much of a flush to your cheeks you had to wonder how you would react to doing far more with Dan than just lying down.

You weren’t exactly virginal, but still the thought of being with Dan made you feel so inexperienced. You guessed it was just that you’d wanted him for so long now.

He was so special to you as well. He was your Danny. 

Dan had told you that no other woman had compared to you and you knew that in your case no man had ever compared to Danny Avidan.

The thought of finally having what you’d wanted with him all this time was overwhelming. The realization that you would able to experience all the things you’d allowed yourself to dream of having with him for so long now was just as daunting.

You felt your cheeks flush even darker realizing that in comparison you might be somewhat experienced compare to Dan who was far more experienced than you. You had heard enough in the few Game Grumps videos you’d watched to figure it out. Dan’s habit of oversharing had hinted enough at his experience with the opposite sex.

You had to hope that you wouldn’t disappoint him somehow or that your lack of experience when compared to him wouldn’t deter from you.

You shook your head the thought of being intimate with Dan making your body react in the way it often did when you allowed your mind to wander too far into liking Dan and wanting Dan.

You two would figure it out you told yourself. He was probably feeling just as awkward about it as you were.

You were unable to stop yourself from exploring his home just a little bit.

He had given you a tour of the place the night before, but it had been cut short once you’d found those bottles of liquor.

The home was simple on the outside; a quiet two-story home in a peaceful suburban neighborhood. The home was covered with freshly painted grey wood siding and the dark shingled roof looked just as new. The entire neighborhood seemed to be a newer development.

You could remember hearing from your mother how proud Dan had been to finally be able to purchase his very first home. He’d been renting all his adult life. Finally being able to afford to purchase a home was a giant deal for him. It was a marker of success to him; being able to afford nice things for the first time in his adult life.

There were three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and an office space. From what you could see though the third bedroom had been converted into a collection room.

You had been amused to find a shelf in the third bedroom proudly displaying NY Giants football helmets and other merch. Dan had always loved football. It was something he and both your fathers had always shared. You were shocked to see a dinosaur tooth proudly hanging framed in the room. You could remember that Dan had wanted to be a paleontologist for the longest time but his non-active sweat glands made that dream impossible.

The homes color scheme seemed to be pretty consistent throughout the house; blues, whites, green, grays, and blacks. The color scheme seemed to match Dan to a tee. The home’s décor wasn’t outwardly masculine and it wasn’t feminine at all. For the most part it seemed to reflect Dan’s interests and his personality.

You had chuckled when you had spotted framed NSP and Starbomb posters hanging on the walls along side a few framed Rush albums. There were of course plenty of pictures of his family around the home. You had been shocked to find a few photos of the two of you together as well; pictures from your childhood back in Jersey, as well as a few of the photos that had been taken when you’d both visited the old neighborhood later on.

Your favorite feature of the home so far was the wood and iron spiral staircase leading up to the second floor.

The bottom floor had a mostly open floorplan aside from the kitchen and the downstairs half bathroom of course.

The backyard seemed large from what you could see and well maintained. You had to wonder if Dan mowed the yard himself or if hired landscapers to take care of it for him.

You could admit you were surprised to see that he had no pets. Dan’s family had always owned pets it seemed. So, seeing Dan without a dog or a cat or even a lizard or a simple goldfish was a surprise. You guessed his work schedule made it hard to devote himself to a pet.

You helped yourself to the food in his fridge surprised to see that Dan had in fact thought to buy several varieties of vegetarian and organic foods as well as plenty of fruits and veggies.

You managed to choke down a pop tart from the box of Organic Annie’s Pop Tarts Dan had placed along side a few other organic choices clearly purchased for you.

You shook your head making a quick choice to find a way to repay him for preparing for your dietary restrictions. It must have cost him a fortune.

You also managed to shoot your mother a quick text keeping it brief deciding not to mention the change in Dan’s and your relationship.

You had the distinct feeling that Dan would want the both of you together to attack the telling you parents as well as his parents about your relationship.

As much as you wanted to continue exploring the home you were unable to deny your exhaustion.

It didn’t take you long to find the guest room. It was quite plain the color scheme mostly being white and grey. The queen bed had been made though it was clear that it was a little sloppily. There was a small dresser in the room and a couple of framed albums on the walls; Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. There wasn’t much else to the room aside from the closet and the pale blue curtains on the windows. You guessed this room was probably only used when one of Dan’s friend stayed too late and needed a place to crash for the night.

You were quick to change into your pjs and collapse into bed relieved to find that while the bed might have been sloppily made at least the white sheets were clean. It took very little time for sleep to hit you your hangover fading thanks to the pain pills Dan had given you this morning.

It was almost dark when you awoke to a gentle hand nudging you. You stared up at Dan your cheeks flushing as it hit you that you had slept all day apparently. “Hey…What time is it?”

“Almost seven. Are you still up to going out? I can reschedule our date if you’re too sleepy.” Dan offered a bit amused by how cute you looked curled up in bed your short hair a mess your eyes heavy with sleep.

You nodded your head a small smile crossing your lips as you sat up and attempted to straighten out your bedhead. At least an upside to having a short hair cut was that it was easy to style. “Yeah, I still want to go…what do I wear? I mean…what kind of dinner situation are we looking at here?”

Dan chuckled tempted to reach down and smooth out your hair for you. He held back though fearing that the intimate act might be a little too much too soon. He couldn’t help but to think that he should take his time with you. “I was thinking sushi. There’s this place not far from the Grump Space that I order from sometimes. It’s casual so jeans and a shirt are fine.”

You nodded your head quickly decoding that the Grump Space was obviously his place of work.

You felt your cheeks flush even darker as Dan suddenly presented you with a small bouquet of flowers. He spoke his own cheeks darkening as he hoped he hadn’t made too cheesy of a move buying your flowers before a date. “I got these for you on the way home…I remember you liking posies…. or at least I think that’s what they were. Your mom used to plant them, right?”

You stared down at the bouquet admiring the small arrangement of posies in differing shades of pinks. “Yes, they were. I really love it. Thank you, Danny.”

You stood up taking a chance as you leaned up it taking a bit of work thanks to your height difference. Your lips slid across his cheek resisting the urge to move towards his lips. “I’m surprised you remembered.”

“I remember everything about you.” Dan blurted out unable to stop himself from placing a hand on your waist the touch delicate.

You felt yourself smile at his touch still unable to get over how he touched you as though you were made of glass. You didn’t think anyone had ever touched you with so much care before.

Dan allowed his lips to press to your forehead resisting the urge to press his lips to yours. Not yet he told himself, maybe after your date he’d work up the nerve to kiss you properly.

He couldn’t help but to feel a little ridiculous at the thought, but he reminded himself that you both needed to move slowly. You had all the time in the world to savor the change in your relationship. There was no need to rush things.

You managed to press another kiss to his cheek as you spoke unable to ignore your rumbling stomach. “Okay I’ll get ready. I’ll move fast I swear.”

Dan chuckled having heard your rumbling stomach as well. He moved back form the room a laugh leaving his lips as he teased you. “Take your time. I’ll be downstairs.”

You couldn’t deny the flutter of your heart as he closed the bedroom door behind them. You buried your nose in the bouquet once again taking in its sweet scent.

You were more than sure that there wasn’t a sweeter man than Danny. He was finally all yours.


	4. All My Pride

You could admit that you found yourself a little lost as what to wear as you rushed to ready yourself for dinner with Dan. Although Dan had said that the sushi place you were going to was completely casual as far as attire went, you still felt the desire to put a bit more effort into your wardrobe.

It wasn’t often you got to actually dress nicely. Your day to day outfit was usually a pair of scrubs and tennis shoes. So, there wasn’t much room for self-expression there.

You couldn’t really remember the last time you’d felt so anxious getting ready for a date. You felt a little ridiculous for being so antsy; it was just Dan after all. Then again maybe that was why you felt so shook up.

This wasn’t just some guy you’d been set up with by your former coworkers at the nursing home. This was Danny, your Danny; the one guy you had never thought you’d be lucky enough to be going out on a date with.

If you could go back in time and tell your teenage self that you’d be going out with Dan you might have died right on the spot from joy. 

You hated how nervous you were. You were stupidly excited for this date, but you just couldn’t shake the nerves.

It probably didn’t help of course that you’d never had the best success rate as far as first dates went. It was also true that you didn’t have the best success rate when it came to choosing boyfriends.

Your last boyfriend, the doctor, had slept with half the nursing staff at the nursing home you were employed in. Then there was the boyfriend who had stolen your tv and your laptop to pawn them after you had broken up with him.

Needless to say, you didn’t know how to pick great guys. You didn’t have luck with the opposite sex despite trying. 

You shook your head shoving thoughts of shitty ex boyfriends out of your brain. Dan wasn’t a thing like any of your past boyfriends and you weren’t just saying that because he was your dearest oldest friend. You would have said that personality wise Dan was a billion steps above your exes. You would have insisted that he was perfect even if you weren’t friends.

After standing in front of your suitcase for what was probably far too long you settled on a pair of black skinny jeans, a feminine dark blue cami top with little red and yellow flowers printed across it, a white kimono styled cardigan, and a pair of navy blue vans sneakers. You topped the look off with a pair of gold stud earrings and special necklace.

The special necklace had been a gift from Dan. He had sent it to you through the mail when you’d graduated from high school. You hadn’t expected a gift from him given the fact that he’d been living up in Brooklyn during that time and had been too poor to make it to your graduation.

The necklace had been a cherished gift despite the falling out Dan and you had experienced six years before.

It wasn’t anything too special, or at least it didn’t look like it. It was a simple thin gold chain with a small golden unicorn charm hanging from it.

It was a bit of a silly gift, but it had meant a lot to you. The unicorn held a secret meaning for Dan and you. You were his Amalthea after all.

You cringed as it hit you that you’d made the mistake of falling asleep in your contacts. You had technically fallen asleep in them twice once the night before when you’d passed out and then again today. You went to the bathroom quick to remove them and flush your eyes with eye drops.

You reluctantly fetched your glasses grateful that you at least had cute glasses unlike the nightmare frames you’d been forced to wear as a child.

You had spent a big chunk of your last tax return buying the Vera Wang frames. They were cute enough; wine colored and ever so slightly cat framed.

You applied a bit of moose to your hair giving it a little volume before applying your makeup. You made the choice to keep your makeup simple never having been one to bother with anything more extravagant than some red lipstick and brow work.

You prayed that you hadn’t taken forever to get ready as you made your way downstairs sending Dan your brightest smile.

Despite your best efforts to avoid it your cheeks flushed as Dan’s eyes met your him quick to return your smile and speak. “You look great. You’d look great in a potato sack though.”

You snorted your cheeks only flushing more at the less than dignified laugh. “I left my potato sack back in Portland.”

Dan’s smile only grew as he spotted the necklace around your neck. He reached out touching it his voice soft. “I didn’t know you still had this.”

“It’s one of my favorite pieces of jewelry.” You admitted as Dan reluctantly pulled his hand back from you.

He spoke a small laugh leaving his lips. “I found that at this weird little hippie shop back in Brooklyn. They sold a lot of handmade jewelry…like these weird silverware rings that I use to buy for my mom and Dana. I saw this hanging on the rack and I automatically thought of you.”

He paused tempted to admit that he had almost been sure that you would have gotten rid of the necklace by now, especially after your falling out.

He kept this comment to himself though knowing that now wasn’t the time to bring up that falling out. Now wasn’t the time, not before your date.

You were sure that your cheeks were the color of a cherry as Dan took your hand in his touching it as delicately as ever as he led you out the door and to his SUV.

You were stunned as Dan was quick to move to open your door for you as you climbed into his SUV. You tried not to chuckle as you watched Dan almost trip over himself as he made his way to the driver’s side door.

He was still just as clumsy as ever. You could distinctly remember being taken to watch him play sports as a child. Though the memories were a bit fuzzy you could remember it being clear that Dan was not an athlete despite his adoration of sports. He was clumsy and he tended to get distracted far too easily which wasn’t a good thing when he had a basketball or a baseball flying at his head.

You had never been too athletic though you had been on the swimming team in high school. You had spent most of your career in P.E. being forced to run laps though that had been mostly due to you having a smart mouth. Your couch had sent you to run laps far more often than not.

School didn’t hold too many fond memories for you. You had struggled to make friends. After Dan had left for college you had found yourself lonelier than ever. You had started to get into trouble around middle school and had found yourself in detention far too often. The very few friends you had made had drifted out of contact with you right after high school.

College had been the same story. You guessed you’d always been too introverted for your own good most of the time at the cost of your social life.

You pushed these memories from your mind hating when you allowed yourself to drift off too far down memory lane, especially down the lonelier roads.

You couldn’t stop yourself from teasing Dan as he climbed into the car. “You almost took a nice trip.”

“Funny.” He remarked his voice deadpan as he turned the ignition pulling gout of his garage.

You bit the inside of your cheek as you spoke trying not to laugh. “Remember when you broke your arm playing basketball? You broke it because you literally tripped over your own feet.”

Dan groaned remembering that experience all too well. “I couldn’t help it. I had huge feet and I hadn’t hit my crazy growth spurt yet. So, I was this short late bloomer with scrawny limbs and giant feet. I was bound to injure myself.”

He spoke again knowing the perfect memory to bring up to point out your own less than graceful moments. “You forget that summer I came home to visit to find you with a cast on your leg because you fell off the roof of your friend’s house.”

“I was stargazing.” You defended yourself that memory one of your less proud moments.

Dan snorted giving your shoulder a nudge. “That’s what you told your parents. You forget that I know the real story behind that broken leg. In reality you jumped off your friend’s roof because they dared you to do it.”

“In my defense I was super high. My friend’s boyfriend had brought us pot brownies and I made the mistake of eating more than one in less than an hour.” You recalled hating to remember what idiots you had hung out with.

You had been so lonely and desperate for friends in high school that the few friends you’d had hadn’t been the most intelligent bunch.

Dan snickered as he stopped at a stop light. “I can’t say anything because I once ate an entire plate of pot brownies…. I spent like three days doing nothing but eating those stupid brownies. I made a ton of them and my friend only took like one…so ya know…I didn’t want to waste them. I ate the rest of the plate because…there wasn’t much else to do. I was a real idiot that year…All I did was play Morrowind and smoke pot.”

You smiled shaking your head slightly as you remembered the drama surrounding Dan’s twenty fourth year of life. You had only been twelve years old then, so you hadn’t been there to personally witness Dan’s heaviest drug years. You had heard your mothers whispering about it more than once.

You knew that your father had been less than amused by Dan’s stoner days. To be honest he still kind of looked at Dan like he was a pothead, despite the fact that Dan hadn’t smoked in years now. 

Of course, Dan and you had shared a blunt more than once during your teen years on the visits he’d made back to New Jersey. 

So, in reality neither of you were the most innocent. You weren’t sure if your father knew just how guilty you were. 

You snickered as Dan flipped on the radio quick to speak. “Okay, no more pot talk please…or talk about what clumsy idiots we both are. Shush and sing.”

You shook your head following his orders, it was Rush after all. You blamed Dan for the soft spot you had for Rush even after all these years.

The ride to the sushi restaurant wasn’t a long one and Dan had spent the remainder of it forcing you to sing along to the radio with him.

You were relieved to find that the restaurant was just as casual as Dan had described it. You had been a bit hesitant given that you weren’t sure what casual was by LA’s standards. Then again Portland had some more pricey food options as well given that it was the Hipster-Mecca.

You sipped your peach tea shifting a bit in place hoping that it wasn’t obvious just how anxious you felt. “So how was work? You weren’t too late, right?”

“It was okay. I wasn’t too late. I mean…I was a little late after I stopped for coffee. Mostly I just watched Arin rage out over this dumb arcade styled game…which was understandable since the game was total crap. I think it was purposely made to be frustrating as hell.” Dan admitted a small chuckle escaping his lips as he remembered Arin’s utter indignant screams over what crap the game he’d played was.

He spoke again shaking his head. “Halloween is right around the corner though. So that means horror games…my favorite.”

You chuckled at this shaking your head ever so slightly. Some things never changed. “Still not a horror fan I’m guessing?”

“Nope. Remember that haunted house your brother drug us to that one time? That was probably one of the worst experiences of my life.” Dan recalled finding it so comforting to drift off down memory lane with you.

It was rare that a first date felt this comfortable. Then again this wasn’t just any first date. This was you after all.

You resisted the urge to laugh too hard. The haunted house he was remembering hadn’t been that horrible. Then again as far as Dan’s tolerance level for horror, it probably had been horrible for him. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“Says you. I think your brother and you are missing some kind of survival instinct. You two are way too comfortable around gore and terror.” Dan pointed out taking a sip of Pepsi cringing at the memory of fake blood and grasping hands of “zombies.”

You knew he had a point. Your brother and you had always had a bit of what was probably considered an obsessive love for Halloween and horror films. You had lost count of the amount of times fake blood had been the first thing you’d purchased when it came time to buy a Halloween costume.

“Even back when you were a kid you insisted on being a vampire or a zombie for Halloween. I don’t ever remember you like…being a Disney Princess or whatever like other girls.” Dan remarked shaking a bit with laughter as he remembered some of your past costumes.

You popped one of the fried crab ragoons that had been brought to the table in your mouth before replying. “Those costumes were always so boring. There’s only so much you can do with glitter and princess dresses. I did go as a zombie Ariel in college….weren’t you a knight for Halloween for like two years in a row?”

“We don’t talk about those years.” Dan remarked bowing his head ever so slightly embarrassed that you had actually remembered this.

He was tempted to ask if a shell bra had been part of the zombie Ariel costume, but he held back unsure if you’d appreciate such a risqué question this soon into venturing into a romantic relationship.

You shifted your eyes down to stare at the hardwood table as Dan spoke totally changing the subject. “So, Debbie explained that your mom said you moved out here for a new job. I know you worked at the nursing home in Portland. Is this another nursing home job?”

“Nope I’m looking at a legit hospital job this time around. I’m hoping to land a job in the Pediatric ward. It’ll be a nice change from my past jobs…when I first started working I did hospice work for a while…I burned out within a year of doing that. Pediatric nursing makes me a little anxious, but I think I could handle it. First things first though, I have to go to the State Nursing Board here and apply to have my nursing license endorsed. I have like thirty days after it’s been endorsed to find a job. Hopefully the job offer is still open by the time I get my license all straightened out.” You explained not helping but to feel dumb for not taking care of this sooner.

With your luck the job would no longer be available by the time your license was updated. To be totally honest you had been so eager to get out of Oregon and make a fresh start that you probably hadn’t planned things out to the best of your ability.

You could admit you had been eager to ditch the cooler weather that happened to hit this time of the year in Portland, for the sunshine of California.

Your shoulders slumped you unable to stop yourself from feeling slightly ashamed as Dan spoke so quick to show you kindness and reassurance. “I bet it’ll still be open. If it’s not LA is a big place. There’s bound to be something you’ll like.”

He spoke again that sweetness you’d always adored becoming even more apparent as he sent you a smile that could only be read as pride. “I was really proud when I found out you’d gotten a nursing degree…I mean I know I totally had nothing to do with it, but still I was proud. You always have been super nurturing.”

You resisted the urge to cover your face with your hands at his praise. It was cringeworthy to realized that his praise still affected you in such a way. It was almost like you were a kid again so eager for Danny’s approval.

You ran a hand through your hair hoping that the action didn’t cause your hair to become a huge mess as your replied. “Thanks…I couldn’t imagine doing anything else to be honest. I mean it’s stressful…like stupidly stressful, but I like it.”

You found yourself once again becoming nervous and ashamed you beginning to fidget in your seat. “I probably should go apartment hunting soon…I have zero idea what the housing market is like around here…That’s something I totally should have done before I made this move…I’m an idiot for not thinking about that. I mean I sold most of my furniture and sent the rest to storage at my parents place back in Jersey…but I didn’t think to actually find a place to live.”

Dan felt the words leave his mouth with very little hesitation. He wanted to kick himself as soon as he spoke. “You could always live with me.”

You widened your eyes stunned by this offer. You wanted to slap yourself as you realized that it probably sounded as though you were fishing for a place to stay. He probably assumed you were hinting that you wanted to live with him. “I don’t know…I mean I’d be a burden…and wouldn’t it be weird…moving in together so quick?”

“It wouldn’t be a burden…you could never be a burden. It wouldn’t be that weird…I mean you could just ya know…it could be like a roommate situation. You could take the guest room if it made you feel better. We’ve known each other forever, so it’s not like we just started dating out of the blue and are shacking up as total strangers.” Dan replied still mentally kicking himself as he tried to fix any awkwardness his offer may have brought up.

You chewed over his offer realizing that he did have a point. He spoke again still trying to smooth things over. “It could just be a temporary thing…I mean…you know until you find a place of your own…or we could just play it as it goes and see how it works out.”

You were tempted to point out the worst-case scenario. What if Dan and you broke up and were stuck living together in a painful awkward situation? What would happen if you broke up and he moved on and started bringing girls home?

You pushed back this conversation though telling yourself that this wasn’t a possibility. Saying anything like this out loud would just be dooming Dan and you before you even had the opportunity to start your relationship. You were sure that it wouldn’t come to that.

The words left your mouth as you decided to just let your heart do all the talking. You had been listening to your heart so far and it seemed to be serving you well. “Okay. I think that would work…I can take the guest room and we can just play it by ear.”

You tried not to laugh as your food was brought Dan making a face at your crunchy wasabi roll. He had never been fond of spicy food thanks to his sensitive stomach.

You tried not to struggle too much with the chopsticks as you spoke bringing up the one thing you knew had to be discussed. “You do know we are going to have to break the news to our parents…We should probably Skype them or something.”

Dan nodded his head a small laugh escaping his throat. “Yeah. We can Skype them this weekend. They’re going to freak out. I feel like we might hear an I told you so from our moms.”

You smiled nodding your head knowing he had a point. Your mothers had been insisting that you were going to get together and you had kept on denying it. An ‘I told you so was due.’

You shrunk back in your seat feeling a bit awkward as a waitress who wasn’t the one who had been serving you approached the table. She looked at Dan not even glancing at you. “I hate to interrupt…. but I’m a huge fan.”

Dan swallowed the lump in his throat knowing that this was a situation that was bound to come up eventually. He sent you a small smile before turning to the waitress a friendly smile crossing his features. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s good to meet fans.”

You tried to smile as her eyes shifted to you quick to speak as her eyes studied you. You couldn’t help but to feel an air of disapproval in her eyes. “Is this your girlfriend?”

Dan felt another lump develop in the back of his throat. If it was any other girl he would lie and say you were just a friend. In the past he had always been protective of his personal life. He knew he had a bad habit of oversharing on the Grumps occasionally, but when he was in a relationship he usually preferred to keep things a bit more private.

He couldn’t force himself to use the “just a friend” line, not with you.

“Yes, she is.” Dan blurted out shocking you. You hadn’t expected him to so proudly declare this especially to a fan.

The look of disapproval only deepened on the waitress’ face. You kept the smile on your face pretending that you didn’t spot the disappointment in the girl’s eyes.

Dan was fast to speak again spotting the dislike in the girl’s face as well. “Do you want me to sign something…or would you like a picture?”

The girl snapped her eyes from you as she gave Dan a grin nodding her head. “Yes. A picture would be awesome.”

She practically shoved her phone at you as Dan pasted on a smile and gave a thumbs up. You snapped a photo happy to hand the girl her phone back as she spoke looking Dan instead of you. “Thanks so much!”

Dan shifted in place staring down at his plate as the girl finally walked away. He gave you a sheepish smile unable to stop himself from apologizing. “Sorry…I know that was kind of…awkward…Sometimes the fans…they’re pretty cool…sometimes though…they can be like that…or worst.”

You gave him a soft smile sensing the genuine regret on his face over the oddness of the situation. “It’s okay…she wasn’t that bad.”

You spoke again trying to soothe his distress. “I’m kind of impressed. My Danny is all grown up with fans fawning over him.”

Dan snorted at this your comment lightening the mood though he couldn’t deny the flush to his cheeks that your comment inspired. “Funny, real funny.”

He spoke again shaking his head. “It’s a little weird…I still can’t believe I have fans, ya know? It’s totally surreal. It’s flattering though…I mean I’m not where I thought I’d be, but I like where I am…I’ve found my place ya know? The YouTube thing just fell in my lap honestly. I know I’m kind of at the public’s mercy…I mean I can’t ya know…have success without the public giving me attention. It could all go away in a second. I know I’m super lucky. I’m grateful for it all even if it can be surreal sometimes.”

You spoke unable to stop yourself from praising him. “Seriously though, I am proud of you. You have what you always wanted…You’ve wanted to create music your entire life. I know you did the advertising thing in college, because you thought you needed to prove something to your parents. I know you tried to make the music thing work for a long while and you had a few hiccups along the way. You seem happy even if it’s not where you thought you’d be. You make lots of people happy. I mean you have fans and I’m sure you mean a lot to them. I’m so happy for you and I’m seriously ridiculously proud of you.”

Dan felt a genuine smile cross his features at this. You were proud of him. That meant more to him than he ever thought possible.

……………..

Thankfully the slightly awkward situation with the waitress hadn’t ruined the night. The rest of dinner was pleasant Dan and you joking and laughing as you ate.

You tried not to giggle as Dan clasped your hand in yours as you walked into his house. He spoke as he began to lead you up the stairs. “Allow me to walk you home.”

You let him lead you to the guest room. Silence hung in the air for the briefest of moments you staring up at Dan your back to the shut door.

Dan felt his eyes drift down to your lips unable to deny that he was wondering just how good your soft lips would feel against his. They looked so plump. He could easily imagine you pressing your lips to his skin leaving red prints behind in their wake.

After a moment’s hesitation Dan leaned down the movement a little awkward thanks to the height difference. His lips slid across yours gentle his movements experimental at first. You returned the kiss moving with a bit more urgency deepening the kiss. His tongue slid along your lips coaxing your mouth open your tongue easily sliding against his.

Your arms encircled one another’s waists Dan eager to hold you close to him. You placed a hand on his cheek stunned by how good the kiss felt. You felt your knees grow weak. Being in his arms felt so incredible. You felt safe. You were so sensitive to his touch. Dan was just as stunned your lips against his far better than he could have ever imagined. He wasn’t sure if any kiss had ever felt like this before.

You parted from one another your breathing heavy neither of you willing to part from one another. You held one another close your breathing heavy. Dan rubbed your back your body feeling incredible against his. You kept your hand pressed to his cheek your thumb caressing his skin the stubble tickling your skin.

Dan spoke the words falling from his lips unable to stop himself from joking. “Fuck…soo uh, was it good for you?”

You gave his shoulder a playful nudge rolling your eyes. “Such a romantic.”

Dan snorted his lips sliding along yours again the kiss gentle. He pulled back far too quickly his nose rubbing against yours causing a giggle to slip through your lips.

You continued to hold on to him your eyes closing as you soaked up the moment. You were so lucky to have him and you were never letting him go.

Little did you know Dan was thinking the same thing about you.


	5. Aviisms and Funfetti

Dan felt spoiled. He couldn’t shake the feeling as he watched you scurry around his kitchen readying breakfast. You were making pancakes; blueberry pancakes at that, his favorite. He had tried to help you out of course, but you weren’t having any of it.

You kept insisting he sit down, relax, and let you handle breakfast.

Dan could admit he didn’t usually bother with breakfast, or he didn’t bother to eat a decent breakfast at least. He might grab a bagel or a muffin on his way out the door in the mornings on most days.

Today was Saturday though, so he was allowing you to indulge him. Still though it felt a tad bit awkward watching you move about his kitchen making him breakfast while he sat at the island counter watching.

He could admit that he was pretty eager for a decent real breakfast though.

You both figured you might as well get a good meal in before you made the Skype call to your parents.

Dan would be lying if he tried to say the call to both of your parents didn’t make him feel just the slightest bit antsy.

He knew your mothers would both be delighted. The two of you finally getting your shit together and realizing you were meant to be together was a dream come true to your mothers.

Avi would probably be thrilled as well. Dan’s father was constantly going on and on about what a good girl Thea was, so he would clearly be absolutely ecstatic that Dan had finally wizened up and realized that he could be with you.

Your father was the one who worried Dan. Your father was old school, He’d been in the military, he’d been a boxer. He had a motorcycle. He even had a freaking handlebar mustache. He was a mans man in every aspect of the description. Your father had a certain idea of what a man should be.

You were also your father’s little princess. You were his only daughter and his youngest child making you quite precious in your father’s eyes. In your dad’s opinion no one was good enough for his little girl.

Dan knew that your father had always thought that Dan was a little strange. Dan wasn’t exactly the man’s man your father so approved of. About the only thing Dan knew he might have in common with your father was a love of sports.

Dan had always sensed that your father disapproved of him, not that Dan blamed him. Dan knew he’d made some pretty questionable choices in his early twenties….actually he’d made questionable choices through the entirety of his twenties…..and his early thirties. Dan hadn’t been wise during his stoner years. He’d wandered around seemingly aimlessly for years trying to get his music career off the ground. He’d worried his parents sick.

He knew your father had heard plenty about Dan’s mishaps and struggles from Dan’s parents, he’d seen Dan during his stoner years.

Though Dan had cleaned up his act and found some success, he had a feeling your father still saw him as a listless struggling stoner musician.

So needless to say, Dan had a feeling that your father wouldn’t be delighted to see that you were giving Dan a shot.

Dan did all he could to shove this thought from his brain as he stood up refilling his coffee cup at the Keurig. He took a long leisurely sip from his cup before he dared to ask you the same thing he’d asked several times this morning. “Are you sure you don’t want any help?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’ve got this.” You replied shooting him a small smile as you poured another pancake.

Dan frowned unable to stop himself from protesting once again for the millionth time this morning. “Are you sure? It just seems like a lot of work for one person.”

You chuckled at this comment shaking your head lightly. “It’s just pancakes Dan. It’s not like I’m doing rocket science over here.”

“True, but ya know cooking to me is basically on the same level as rocket science….like breakfast is the only thing I can remotely come close to being able to pull off in the kitchen.” Dan pointed out a small snort leaving his nose his cheeks flushing slightly embarrassed by his own lack of talent in the kitchen.

He spoke again not giving you too much of a chance to focus on just how hopeless he was in the kitchen. “Hey, remember those pancakes your mom used to make? The ones with like vanilla and little confetti sprinkles?”

“The ones she made with Funfetti cake mix? For my birthday every year?” You asked a small chuckle leaving your lips. You hadn’t thought of those pancakes in years. You were almost amazed that Dan still remembered them.

“Yeah, I loved those things.” Dan remarked a small somewhat dreamy smile crossing his features. He’d always loved your mother’s cooking. He’d spent many nights at the Mercer household for dinner.

You returned his smile trying to ignore the guilt pecking at the back of your brain over the fact that you hadn’t thought of your mom’s birthday pancakes in years. “Me too.”

You cleared your throat not wanting to spend too much time focusing on the guilt you felt over how long you’d avoided your hometown and your family. If you did that you’d just fall apart. “I know how you can help, you can set the table.”

“Ah perfect choice. I most definitely can’t burn the house down doing that task.” Dan remarked working a chuckled out of you as he happily pressed a kiss to your cheek his stubble tickling your sensitive skin.

You shook your head as you listened to Dan set the table humming an old Def Leppard song to himself. Breakfast with Danny definitely didn’t have a dull moment.

After eating what was probably far too many pancakes for breakfast Dan and you found yourselves sat on the sofa in the living room, Dan’s laptop open in front of you.

Dan quickly typed a text to his mother informing her to gather your mother for a Skype session. He placed the phone down clasping his hand over yours your fingers lacing together comfortably. It was almost strange to think that something as simple as holding hands seemed to come as almost second nature to Dan and you now.

Of course, it still put butterflies in your stomach, but it easily came as almost instinct to clasp your hands together now.

Dan couldn’t stop himself from speaking unable to hold back his anxiety any longer. “Nervous about this?”

“Oh yeah. You know they’re going to give us so much shit.” You remarked your own stomach in knots. It had been a while since you’d seen your mother face to face.

Most of your contact with her was via cell phone.

“Yeah they will. We’ll survive though, or at least I hope we will.” Dan replied already anticipating the ‘I told you so’s’ and the ‘It’s about times.’

Dan didn’t give you a chance to reply as he leaned in his lips easily sliding along yours in an all too chaste kiss. You kissed back eagerly the simple act still leaving you breathless. You’d only kissed a few times since your date a few nights before, but it was easy to say that you were addicted to the feel of one another’s lips.

Dan pulled back all too soon a low chuckle spilling from his lips at the frustrated little whimper that left your lips when you parted from one another. “Can’t get too hot and heavy baby. We don’t want to look too flustered when that Skype call comes in.”

You felt your cheeks flush at this comment, Baby? That was a new one. You couldn’t help but to like it.

You didn’t have a chance to make a cheeky comment before the ding sounded from Dan’s laptop inciting that the call was here.

You pasted a smile on your face hoping that WE JUST KISSED AND We WOULD HAVE MADE OUT TOO IF WE’D HAD THE TIME wasn’t pasted across Dan’s and your faces as Dan answered the call.

Both your mothers sat in the Avidan family’s living room. It was almost amusing that you recognized the living room though you hadn’t seen it in years. The old floral printed couch was still in the same place it’d always been. The old dated stereo system was still visible to the right of the room. The entire room still looked exactly the same. You could even spot family photos still proudly hanging up on the wall in the background.

Your mothers were both quick to speak almost at exactly the same time. “Hey kids.”

“Hey guys.” You replied Dan quick to speak up as well. “Hey Doobles, Hey Mrs. Mercer.”

“Oh Danny, you know you don’t have to call me Mrs. Mercer. It’s Lorraine.” Your mother was quick to scold Dan causing you to snicker ever so slightly. She still spoke to him as though he was a child never mind the fact that he was clearly a grown man and had been for a long while.

Dan’s mother spoke up nodding to you. “Oh, Thea. You look so grown up. You’re even prettier than all the pictures your mother shows me.”

Dan resisted the urge to blurt out that you were in fact prettier than the pictures.

Your mother was fast to speak shaking her head. “She’s even prettier now that she doesn’t have that horrible ring in her nose. She looked like a bull.”

You rolled your eyes not missing the look Dan was shooting you. He apparently hadn’t heard about the septum piercing. “I still have that piercing Mom. I’m just not wearing any jewelry right now because my allergies are all stirred up. You can’t wear the ring when your sinuses are all swelled. I barely wear it now. It’s not work appropriate.”

Your mother scowled not pleased to hear this. Her pouting didn’t last long as she noticed the fact that Dan and you were in fact hand in hand. “Are you two holding hands?”

“They are!” Debbie exclaimed your mother’s clasping hands both women looking like over excited fangirls seeing their favorite band.

Dan cleared his throat quick to speak up and break the news for the both of you. “We’ve talked it out…and, well, you two can finally say “I told you so” we’re dating.”

“I knew it! I knew it’d happen sooner or later! You two both fought it so hard, but we knew it’d happen.” Your mother exclaimed Debbie and her both pulling one another into a hug.

Dan and you felt your cheeks flush it a bit mortifying to watch your mother’s carry on like schoolgirls; squealing, hugging, and clapping their hands.

“How did it happen? Tell us everything.” Debbie demanded parting from your mother.

You cleared your throat more than sure that your mothers didn’t need to hear that you had made your love confession while practically blackout drunk. You shrugged your shoulders lying easily. “We just kind of talked late one night, went down memory lane…kind of talked it all out.”

Dan spoke quick to elaborate on your comment. “She let it slip that she’d had a crush on me back when she was a kid….and I kind of took it from there asking what she thought of me now….one thing just led to another.”

He paused cringing at the way the last part of his statement had sounded. He knew it made it sound like you’d wound up sleeping together right off the bat. He was quick to speak again. “Ahem…we kept things G rated…we just talked. We kind of hashed it all out and put it all on the table. We both agreed that we’re hopelessly into each other and we wanted to give a relationship a chance.”

“I knew it’d happen eventually. It was so obvious you had such a crush on him Thea. Don’t let him fool you though, he had a massive crush on you too after you came back from college that first time. I could see it in his eyes the second he caught sight of you and realized it was his little Amalthea.” Debbie exclaimed thankfully her nor your mother commenting on Dan’s G rated comment.

Dan squirmed in his seat embarrassed that his mother had decided to share that information. You couldn’t help but to smirk ever so slightly as you caught sight of him out of the corner of your eyes.

Debbie was quick to speak again turning her head to the side calling out to the other room. “Avi! Come here! Dan and Thea are on the laptop.”

Avi entered the picture leaning down to peer into the laptop’s webcam. “DAAAAN…Thea…ahhh it’s good to see you both. Thea! You still look so ahhhh stunning. Still so pretty. Doesn’t she look beautiful Danny?”

Dan cleared his throat nodding his head trying not to chuckle at Avi’s little Aviisms. ‘Yeah she sure does buddy.”

Debbie was fast to update her husband on the situation. “They’re finally a couple Avi. Look they’re holding hands.”

“It’s about time. So Daaaan when will Thea and you start…ahhhh making some grandchildren.”

Dan was thankful that he hadn’t taken a sip of coffee before his father threw this question out. He peeked at you to see that you were just as taken back by the question.

Dan spoke shaking his head. “Avi, jeez buddy…. we just started dating. It’s a little soon to push for us to start popping out any ankle biters.”

Avi shook his head a huff leaving his lips. “Why not? You’ve ahhhh you’ve known Thea all her life…. she’s a pretty girl, smart, and good….ahhh she’ll make a good mother. She’s a good girl.”

You spoke up hoping you were giving the right answers and not about to totally freak Dan out. “I appreciate that Avi, but you may want to hold off on asking for any kids out of us for a few years.”

Dan was quick to nod his head soothing your fears. “Yeah buddy, it’s a little soon to ask us to make grandbabies. You should check back with us later.”

He spoke again looking to your mothers to back you up. “Am I right guys? It’s a little soon to start asking us to start a family.”

Your mothers connected eyes your mom the first to speak. “I would like some grandchildren. Your brother hasn’t had any children yet Thea…and I don’t know if he ever will the way he acts…. You’re my only hope at getting any grandkids.”

Debbie chuckled nodding her head in agreement. “You aren’t getting any younger Danny, and you have known Thea practically all your life. She would be the right person to start a family with.”

You spoke up trying to back Dan up. “We might…. someday. We both aren’t in any rush to start making any kids guys. We’re getting a little carried away here…I mean we aren’t even married.”

Debbie was fast to speak her eyes filling with excitement. “When are you going to get married?”

Dan let out a groan a small chuckle spilling from his lips. “You got them started on another thing Thea.”

You chuckled as well shaking your own head. “We aren’t in a rush to do anything guys. Don’t start with that please.”

“Yeah, we’re just enjoying this change in our relationship guys. We aren’t rushing into anything.” Dan replied agreeing.

Avi let out a huff repeating Debbie’s earlier statement. “You aren’t getting any younger Danny. Thea she’s already like…. ahhh she’s already like family. So, she already belongs…. she already feels like a daughter so she’ll feel like ahhhh a daughter in law easy. She would make a ahhh perfect wife for you.”

Dan’s cheeks flushed a deep pink your own cheeks turning a matching shade as you spoke to steer the conversation way from this subject. “Can we drop this guys? Seriously, like Dan said we’re just enjoying being together right now. We aren’t in any rush to do anything more right now.”

Your mother thankfully took some sympathy on Dan and you as she spoke up shaking her head. “Alright we’ll drop it …. for now.”

She chuckled as Debbie spoke a small sigh escaping her lips. “It took us forever to get them to admit they liked each other. It’s going to take us twice as long to get a wedding and babies out of them.”

Your mother spoke up once Debbie and she recovered from their giggle fit. “So, Thea does this mean I can expect you to come visit for the holidays this year?”

You tried not to cringe the sting of your mother’s statement hitting hard. You tried to pretend as though it didn’t affect you as much as it did as you spoke up. “Yes.”

Dan spotted the flash or regret and hurt in your eyes and he was fast to speak trying to lighten up the conversation. “I have an idea, we could do a big family Thanksgiving this year….both of our families together. It wouldn’t be hard. We’re next door neighbors after all, so not a lot of travel.”

“Oh, I like that idea.” Debbie responded your mother nodding her head in agreement. “I like that too. That’s a wonderful idea Danny.”

Your mother sighed as her cell phone began to chirp. “I have to go kids. That’s your father calling…I can’t wait to share the news with him…I’ll see you both in November. I love you.”

“We love you too.” Dan and you both stated.

It didn’t take long for Debbie to speak as well. “Alright I’ll let you two go too. I love you both.”

“Love you too Doobles. Love you Avi.” Dan stated.

“Love you guys.” You added on as the webcam was switched off the Skype call ending.

Dan couldn’t help but to melt into the couch ever so slightly his head falling back a groan leaving his lips. “Well that was fun.”

“Yeah, I guess we should have known they’d give us crap.” You remarked a small chuckle leaving your lips.

Dan bit the inside of his cheek his mind reeling over all that had been discussed he couldn’t stop himself from bringing it up before he lost his nerve. “So…uh, did you mean it…I mean the stuff about not being in any rush?”

“Yeah, I mean…. It’d be nuts to get married like tomorrow and ya know…knock me up so fast. I’m kind of just enjoying the fact that we’ve moved from being friends to being a couple. I’m not in any rush to move too fast.” You explained hoping that he was on the same page as you.

Dan let out a sigh of relief nodding his head. “Yeah it would be crazy…. I’m not in a rush either.”

He paused clearing his throat unable to stop himself from continuing the conversation. “That doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t…like, ya know want it someday…Maybe in a few years…..I mean I’ve never been great at commitment…It’s always kind of made me feel weird….I think that’s because deep down inside I kind of knew how much trust it takes to ya know marry someone and know that it’s one hundred percent the right choice…I think with you I’d feel like it was the right choice…ya know, I trust you, probably more than just about anyone…so if I was going to get married and have kids it’d probably be with you.”

You nodded your head unable to deny that you felt the same way. “Yeah I agree. If I was to get married and have any kids I would want it to be with you.”

You paused clearing your throat not helping but to tease him. “Just remember you aren’t getting any younger Danny.”

Dan gave you a playful nudge a snort leaving his nose. “Oh, fuck off.”

He paused giggling shaking his head unable to stop himself from joking. “Jeez by the time you’re ready for me to put a baby in you I might be so damn old that I’m just cumming dust.”

You rolled your eyes unable to stop the snort from leaving your own nose. “You’re disgusting. You’re lucky I like you. Also, can we not refer to it as you putting a baby in me?”

“Fine, fine. We’ll call it conceiving our offspring.” Dan giggled causing you to roll your eyes again.

You both dissolved into giggles as you spoke up. “That’s somehow worse. It can’t be too flippant but it can’t be too clinical either.”

Once you two recovered from your laughter Dan spoke it his turn to tease you. “So, a septum piercing huh? Do you have anything else pierced.”

You chuckled shaking your head as you noticed he was nodding down to your boobs. “In your dreams. I am not putting anything through my nipples or anything lower than that…especially not that.”

Dan grinned shaking his own head unable to deny the little twitch of lust that ran through him at the thought of your boobs and the that you were referring to. “But yet you shoved metal through your nose.”

You smirked knowing what to make his eyes bug out. “I may also have a tattoo.”

“Oh, I want to see.” Dan exclaimed this being the last thing he’d expected.

“Maybe some other time. I’m going to make you work for it.” You teased causing him to let out a huff.

“That is so unfair. It’s not on your glorious butt, right?” Dan joked causing you to let out a laugh.

You shook your head rolling your eyes. “Nope, and before you ask it’s not on my boobs either. No tit for tat on me.”

Dan chuckled nodding his head unable to stop himself. “Thank God, those boobies are some prime real estate.”

You gave him a playful shove the both of you giggling at this exchange.

You two sat in silence for a moment before you spoke up unable to stop yourself. “Do you think I’m a bad person for avoiding home for so long?”

Dan furrowed his brow this question catching him off guard. “What? No, of course not baby. Babygirl don’t say that.”

You sighed unable to stop yourself from tearing up slightly. You wiped your eyes shaking your head. “I avoided home for so freaking long, I avoided my parents. I ignored them when they begged me to come home and see them. Doesn’t that make me pretty horrible?”

Dan embraced you pulling you tight against him his lips pressing to your face quick to pepper kisses against your skin. “No, it doesn’t. You aren’t horrible. I don’t want to ever hear you say that about yourself again. Your parents love you and they understand. They don’t think you’re a bad person for not coming home. They missed you and they were worried, but they didn’t think you were horrible. No one thinks that.”

He spoke again shaking his head. “I’m sure I didn’t help matters…the way we left each other the last time we spoke all those years ago.”

You cringed not wanting to relive that night.

You were relieved as Dan spoke up thankfully feeling the same way. “It’s all in the past. If you feel bad about it, then all you have to do is apologize to your parents when we go see them in November. Once you get it off your chest you’ll feel so much better baby.”

You spoke trying to lighten up the conversation. “I’m baby now?”

Dan chuckled his lips sliding along yours as he spoke. “Yes.” He pressed another kiss speaking in between soft kisses. “You’re my baby, my babygirl. All mine.”

You couldn’t help but to giggle at this statement your lips sliding against his as you spoke. “You’re all mine too.”

Dan allowed his tongue to slide across yours the kisses deepening his embrace on you tightening. He pulled back a small chuckle leaving his throat. “All better, see all I gotta do is give my babygirl some kisses and she’s all better.”

You shook your head unable to stop yourself from playing right along with this. “I might need a few more to feel better baby.”

“Hmmm babygirl’s so demanding.” Dan teased his lips sliding along yours.

You reluctantly parted lips as Dan’s cell phone chimed.

He groaned so reluctant to pull from you. He reached out refusing to loosen his grip on you causing you to laugh as he grabbed his phone barely able to use his fingertips to scoot it close enough to grasp it.

He frowned as he took a look at the text message. He debated his options before he spoke up deciding to just go with it. “That was a friend of mine…the guy I work with, Arin…He wants to know if maybe you want to go bowling with him and his wife.”

Dan cleared his throat ready for you to shoot him down. It might be too soon for you to feel ready to meet his friends.

He spoke again clearing his throat again. “It’s okay if you don’t want to. I just thought I’d ask…ya know, it might be fun. Plus, it might take your mind off…the whole holiday thing….No pressure though.”

“No….I mean…yeah, I’d like to go. It sounds fun. It’ll be nice to get out and meet your friends.” You admitted hiding the anxiety that bubbled up in your stomach.

Meeting his friends was huge. What if they were weirded out once they heard the entirety of Dan’s and your history together.

You couldn’t deny though that you wanted to meet his friends. You wanted to be a part of his life.

Dan grinned nodding his head. “Cool I’ll text him back an okay then.”

You returned his smile trying to hide your anxiety. This would be fun. Everything would go great.


End file.
